LA Angels 7, Texas Rangers 4

Rangers unable to muster any offense against MLB's best pitcher.

ARLINGTON — The Texas Rangers were predictably overmatched Friday night, losing 7-4 to the LA Angels at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The loss dropped Texas to 92-65, three and a half games ahead of the Oakland A's for first place in the AL West with five to play. Los Angeles improved to 87-70, a game and a half behind the A's for the second AL wild card spot.

Photo not provided by the LA Angels

Jered Weaver: every baseball fan's greatest wish.

Angels starter Jered Weaver was once again sensational, giving up just two runs over seven innings and improving to 20-4 on the season, the first American League pitcher to hit the 20-wins mark this season.

Rangers starter Ryan Dempster was not as fortunate, allowing four runs on seven hits over just five-plus innings. Dempster, who walked four while striking out seven, fell to 7-3 with the Rangers this season.

The Angels opened the scoring in the top of the first with Mike Trout's leadoff home run and never looked back. LA made it 2-0 in the third when catcher Chris Ianette hit a solo home run, then Mark Trumbo hit an RBI double in the fourth to make it 3-0.

Texas finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Josh Hamilton led off the inning with a double, advanced to third on Adrian Beltre's single and then scored on Nelson Cruz' sacrifice fly.

Trumbo struck again in the top of the sixth with another RBI double, then the Angels put up three more in the seventh --capped by a Trumbo RBI single-- to make it 7-1 Angels.

Texas scored on Nelson Cruz' solo home run in the seventh, and Beltre's two-run home run in the eighth, but it was too late by that point.

Beltre's home run was his 36th of the season and his 100th RBI, and the third baseman seems poised to finish with his best regular season since his final year with the Dodgers in 2004.