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Matchups with staff aces don't seem to faze Jered Weaver, who is set to try and keep pace with Cliff Lee. At Texas, though, Weaver has had trouble regardless of who is pitching for the Rangers.
With a marquee pitching matchup opening a key AL West series, the Los Angeles Angels look to avoid losing their seventh straight game started by Weaver at Texas as they face Lee and the first-place Rangers on Thursday night.
This four-game series gives three-time reigning division champion Los Angeles (51-46) a chance to cut into Texas' five-game lead.
"It's huge," Weaver (9-5, 3.16 ERA) told the Angels' official website. "We've been sitting four, five games back for a while now. ... When you're playing those guys, you pick up a game or lose one. Simple as that."
Weaver will take part in a matchup of All-Star pitchers, with Lee (8-4, 2.59) making his third start for Texas (55-40) since being acquired in a trade with Seattle.
Weaver outdueled Mariners ace Felix Hernandez in his last start, allowing two runs in seven innings of a 3-2 victory Friday night. Weaver has matched up with Hernandez three times this year, going 2-0 with a 0.84 ERA.
"I take the same approach no matter who I'm facing," Weaver said. "I trust my game and I trust what I'm throwing up there."
But Los Angeles has lost the last six games that Weaver has started at Texas. The right-hander has a 6.17 ERA during that stretch, surrendering seven runs in two of his last three outings.
Lee, meanwhile, has won four straight starts versus the Angels, posting a 1.91 ERA, and is 6-3 with a 3.18 ERA in nine outings against them all-time.
The veteran left-hander fell just short of earning his seventh complete game of the season Saturday night, giving up two runs in nine innings of a 3-2, 11-inning loss to Boston. Lee allowed a game-tying double in the ninth.
Lee is facing an Angels team that is hitting .329 while averaging 5.8 runs over its last six games. Los Angeles had 15 hits against New York on Wednesday, but still lost 10-6.
Angels designated hitter Hideki Matsui has homered in two straight games after connecting once in his previous 32 contests. Matsui, though, is 1 for 17 with six strikeouts versus the Rangers this season.
Texas went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position in a 4-1 loss at Detroit on Wednesday night, losing for the first time in four games. The Rangers had 32 hits and 16 runs in their previous two contests.
Vladimir Guerrero went 0 for 3 and is 1 for 12 in his last three games. Guerrero is in his first season with the Rangers after six years with the Angels.
The nine-time All-Star is 10 for 19 (.526) with four homers and nine RBIs in Texas' five games against Los Angeles this year. The Rangers won three of those contests.
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