ARLINGTON – Before entertaining a question Saturday night, Matt Harrison had an impromptu statement for the gathered media.

"I just want to say that I'm happy I didn't walk anybody tonight," Harrison said.

And therein lies the not-so-secret formula behind great pitching performances at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. If you get ahead of hitters, the night can belong to you, too, just as it did Harrison in a 3-0 win over Tampa Bay.

The win ended the Rangers' four-game losing streak and got them back to .500. It also brought the staff ERA down for the first time in a week. It "fell" to 5.41.

There were impressive numbers scattered all about Harrison's pitching line. He went eight innings, becoming the first Ranger in 10 days to go more than five innings or pick up a quality start. He retired the last 18 batters he faced, thanks in a part to a home run stealing catch by Josh Hamilton in center. He struck out eight, not just setting a new career high, but more than doubling his previous career total.

The most impressive number, though, was the zero under walks allowed. It was the second time in his eight major league starts he's walked less than two batters. In those two starts, he's beaten the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels and the AL East-leading Rays.

"My strikeout-to-walk ratio [7-to-19] had been horrible," Harrison said. "I've always been a guy to limit walks in the minors. I wanted to come out and attack the strike zone better."

Because of an off day last Monday, Harrison was afforded the ability to throw an extra bullpen session between starts and he used the extra session to make a couple of minor mechanical adjustments more second nature.

He said by the time he got to the mound Saturday, he wasn't thinking about landing more softly on his front foot to keep from rushing to the plate. He was simply focused on throwing strikes.

The adjustment allowed him to command the outside corner. He was able to throw his slider in to right-handed hitters, which then opened up the outside for his fastball.

"He showed what his upside is tonight," manager Ron Washington said. "Anything and everything he had to do, he did tonight. He commanded every pitch."

Harrison had a first-inning jam, but he got out of it by getting Willy Aybar to fly to left, stranding a pair of runners. In the third, he allowed a leadoff single to No. 9 hitter Jason Bartlett and then not another runner. The only other thing remotely close to a scare came in the sixth when Ben Zobrist drove a ball to center field, but Hamilton got to the wall in plenty of time and leaped about 18 inches above it to turn the homer into an out.

"It just kind of all fell together," Hamilton said. "I got a good jump on it, and I knew I could get to the wall in time to time my jump. The only thing was how far over the wall it was going to be."

The answer: Not far enough to take any of the shine off Harrison's outing.