It may not seem like much, but it would represent a change for the Rangers, who are now 75-81 with six games remaining. The Rangers have not finished above third place in the AL West since winning the division in 1999.

They've been in second place for most of the last four months, but with a week remaining in the season, their "lead" over Oakland has shrunk to a sliver.

Oakland arrives for a three-game series Monday trailing the Rangers by only a half-game. While the Rangers were getting swept by the Angels, the A's won three in a row.

The Rangers lead the series 10-6 and have won four of six at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The teams haven't played in Texas, however, since June 1.

ANGELS 7, RANGERS 3: Against Angels RHP John Lackey and a pair of relievers, the Rangers struck out a season-high 16 times. The Rangers fanned 12 times in the first six innings, including seven times in a row at one point. Texas now has whiffed 1,162 times this season. And with six games left, a second consecutive season with at least 1,200 strikeouts seems likely. The Rangers struck out 1,224 times last year, the third most in AL in history.