"Five days during the course of a six-month season seems like a relatively insignificant amount of time. For a starting pitcher coming off a dismal performance, though, it can be an eternity.

Rich Harden called his May 14 outing at Toronto an embarrassment, one of the worst of his career. And he had to stew over it for five days until he got a chance to redeem himself.

Redemption didn't come in the form of sparkling performances. Although the Rangers won both of Harden's next two starts, he wasn't the pitcher of record against Baltimore and at Kansas City.

Against the Royals, he allowed six runs.

But the way Harden felt at Kauffman Stadium is how he hopes to feel the rest of the season, starting tonight as he tries to put an end to the Rangers' four-game losing streak.

The turnaround started after the miserable night in his native Canada and during the long days that followed.

"As a starter, you have so much time to think. It's not like a reliever where you can get back out the next day or two," said Harden, who is 2-1 with a 5.14 ERA after 10 starts.

"Before that, I wasn't happy with myself about being inconsistent, but that motivated me to get back to what I've done in the past."

The two changes he has made seem simple, but they were difficult to latch onto as he tried to work through some early season struggles. Since Toronto, though, he is focusing on his target earlier and throwing from a higher arm slot. "