First pitch: Thursday, 10:05 p.m. EDT
Line: Los Angeles -140, Texas +130, Total: 6.5

The red-hot Rangers look to complete a four-game sweep Thursday night and push their winning streak to seven. The Angels who now find themselves a distant seven games behind Texas face a must-win situation with their ace, Jered Weaver, on the mound.

Rangers starter Colby Lewis is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in his past four starts against the Halos. Los Angeles counters with Weaver, who has been terrific in his career at home against Texas, going 7-0 with a 2.32 ERA in 11 starts. The Angels are a perfect 12-0 over the past two seasons against division opponents when Weaver is on the mound. Despite three straight defeats, Los Angeles usually bounces back quickly, going 34-24 (+9.7 Units) after a loss this season. The Rangers are 1-5 in their past six games as a road underdog. Weaver won’t let his team get swept and pitch a gem in an Angels victory. The pick here is LOS ANGELES.

The FoxSheets provide another trend favoring Weaver and the Angels.

WEAVER is 21-3 (87.5%, +16.0 Units) against the money line in home games vs. teams whose hitters strike out 6 or less times/game since 1997 (Team's Record). The average score was WEAVER 6.2, OPPONENT 2.8 - (Rating = 2*).

The Rangers are looking to win for the 12th time in 14 games on Thursday night. Lewis (11-8, 4.01 ERA) pitched very well Saturday in Oakland, allowing just one run and three hits over 6.1 innings, with eight strikeouts and zero walks in a 7-1 victory. After allowing a lead-off triple, Lewis retired 17 straight batters, which included five straight strikeouts in the third and fourth innings. Lewis is 3-3 with a 4.94 ERA in 10 career games (eight starts) against the Angels. In two career starts in Anaheim, Lewis is 1-1 with a modest 3.75 ERA.

Weaver (14-6, 2.13 ERA), a legitimate Cy Young candidate, had a rare rough outing after his suspension on Saturday in Toronto where he gave up a season-high eight runs in only 4.2 innings. This was the first time he had allowed more than three runs in a game since May 13, a span of 15 straight starts. Overall this year against the Rangers, Weaver is 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA, 20 strikeouts and just three walks in 22 innings. He has also been incredible at home this year, going 6-1 with a 1.51 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and .209 opponents’ BA at Angel Stadium.