Rangers, Angels resume pivotal series

A pivotal AL West matchup will resume tonight between the leading Texas Rangers and LA Angels of Anaheim in Arlington.

Texas was able to pad its lead atop the division standings to three games ahead of the Angels with last night's 11-7 triumph at Rangers Ballpark in the opener of a three-game set. Rangers manager Ron Washington thought it would be a good idea to drop Nelson Cruz from fifth to seventh in the batting order and the move paid off tremendously.

Cruz finished 4-for-5 with two home runs, six RBI and three runs scored to lead Texas, which ended a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in its last seven games. David Murphy hit a grand slam in the 18-hit attack, while Michael Young had three hits and Mike Napoli scored three runs.

"We definitely showed up tonight. We took a few days of frustration out and played a great game," Murphy said. "It's going to be a battle all weekend long."

Derek Holland started for the Rangers and gave up only one run on eight hits through 6 2/3 innings. Holland also struck out six batters and walked two to push his 2011 record to 12-5.

Taking the mound for the AL West leaders tonight will be C.J. Wilson. The All- Star lefty has won three straight starts and tossed 6 2/3 shutout innings in a 4-0 win over Boston on Monday, improving to 13-5 in 27 starts and lowering his earned run average to 3.08. Wilson is 2-1 with a 1.33 ERA in four starts against the Angels this season

In 37 career games (10 starts) in this series, Wilson owns a 5-4 record to go along with a 3.25 ERA. He has been impressive at home this season, going 6-1 in 13 trips to the Arlington mound.

The Angels had their six-game winning streak stopped last night, as starter Dan Haren was pounded for seven runs -- six earned -- and 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings with three strikeouts and one walk. Jerome Williams fared no better and gave up four runs in 1 2/3 innings of relief.

Russell Branyan hit a three-run homer and Howie Kendrick added a two-run shot for the Angels, who have scored at least five runs in six straight games.

"We can score runs, but obviously it's not the type of game we want to play, not the type of game our team is set up for," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia.

Anaheim will also visit Seattle for four games on this current road swing and hopes Ervin Santana can pitch the club to a win Saturday. Santana is 0-1 in his last two starts since winning six straight decisions and is coming off Tuesday's 5-4 win in which he did not figure into the outcome. He allowed four runs and nine hits in eight innings and is 9-9 with a 3.17 ERA in 27 starts.'

Santana, a right-hander, is 0-2 with a 6.27 ERA in three starts against the Rangers this season. In 23 career starts against Texas, he is 11-9 with a 5.55 earned run average. is to keep them down."

Texas has won eight of its 14 matchups with the Angels this season.