SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The weekend was an exercise in all the reasons the Rangers are no closer to finding a No. 5 starter than they were when this jolly camp came together five weeks ago.

Chi Chi Gonzalez, the pre-camp favorite, is still a guy without a strikeout pitch.

Nick Martinez is still a guy with no margin for error, and that was plainly obvious when the Rangers made five errors behind him on Sunday. Martinez was unable to pitch around them in a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

"We haven't seen any separation," manager Jeff Banister said Sunday. "And we're looking for that."

Jeremy Guthrie, the rotation turns its eyes to you.

If Guthrie holds true to his career track record in a minor league game Monday as the other two who went before him did on the weekend, the Rangers might just have a favorite. Guthrie, 36, at least has a viable track record with nine consecutive seasons of at least 24 starts.

"I think [track record] does account for something," manager Jeff Banister said. "We went through a similar situation last year when we brought Wandy [Rodriguez] in. We felt more comfortable with the ability to throw strikes and log outs."

However, Guthrie has pitched only four innings in A games this spring, partly due to some early spring back stiffness. He has not walked a hitter and allowed only one run. Whether he can build up enough stamina to be counted on for five or six innings on the fifth day of the season remains a significant question.

"It's a definite challenge," Banister said. "But you do rely on what you've seen in the past and the track record some. We'll continue to look at it."

Guthrie had a poor 2015 season with Kansas City and fell out of the rotation in the second half, but he is confident he's been able to restore his release point to a position that will create more ground balls. Last year, he induced 189 ground balls and 188 fly balls.

The Rangers must look more closely after the weekend reminded them that Gonzalez and Martinez still have significant projects to work on. They must also consider converted reliever Phil Klein, who has all of two major league starts, and Tommy John reclamation project A.J. Griffin, who hasn't pitched in the majors in two seasons. After Monday, each one could still have two outings apiece to make final arguments.

Gonzalez, who was bombed by Arizona on Saturday, still doesn't have a strikeout in an A game this spring. In this case, spring performance might be a good indicator of what to expect in the regular season. Last year, Gonzalez had only 30 strikeouts in 67 major league innings. His 4.18 strikeouts per nine innings was the third lowest rate among 187 pitchers with at least 10 starts.

Gonzalez's slider is his best "strikeout" pitch, and it hasn't been sharp this spring. He also struggles to get enough separation of velocity in his pitch repertoire. The lack of deception gives hitters the ability to fight off his pitches, even if they are initially fooled.

The book on Martinez through two major league seasons is that he competes like a champion, but his "stuff" is so borderline that he can't afford to make mistakes and can't afford to have any behind him. The Rangers made five of them Sunday, including a throwing error by Martinez.

"He got a few more swings and misses than usual, and he pitched in," Banister said. "Still, I'd like to see a little more efficiency with his pitches. He continued to grind through it. He threw the ball well. He competes."

"I don't think I let up one pitch," Martinez said. "I didn't let up one pitch. I was able to stay locked in when things didn't go my way."