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Jul 1, 2010 - 6:56 AM By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO STATS Writer

Texas (47-30) at Los Angeles (44-36), 10:05 p.m. EDT

The Texas Rangers set a franchise wins record and were the majors' best team in June. Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero have been at the heart of it, and have showed little signs of slowing.

The All-Star sluggers look to help the Rangers get July off to a strong start as they conclude this three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night.

Texas (47-30) went 21-6 last month, capped by a 6-4 victory Wednesday that increased its AL West lead over the second-place Angels (44-36) to 4 1/2 games.

Hamilton and Guerrero have been major reasons for Texas' surge to the top of the division.

Hamilton set team marks for June with 49 hits and 31 RBIs. The left fielder is hitting .457 during a career-high 23-game hitting streak that is also the longest in the majors this year.

Guerrero hit .356 with six homers and 24 RBIs last month, finishing June with a torrid stretch in his last seven games. He went 14 for 29 with three homers and 11 RBIs in that span.

The 2004 AL MVP with Los Angeles went 4 for 4 with two homers and five RBIs in Wednesday's win, giving him three homers and eight RBIs in his first series at Anaheim since leaving the Angels via free agency in the offseason.

"He's as dangerous as any hitter in the game right now," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "He's obviously at a level we haven't seen in a couple of years, but it just goes back to his health and how he's feeling. ... That's what he can do. We obviously didn't pitch him the way we were trying to. You make a mistake on Vlad and you're going to pay a price."

The Rangers will hand the ball to C.J. Wilson (6-3, 3.35), who is 3-0 with a 3.09 ERA in five starts - all Texas wins - after going 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA in his previous four.

The left-hander continued his strong stretch Saturday, yielding two runs in seven innings of a 7-2 victory over Houston. Wilson has limited opponents to a .205 average his last five starts.

He'll try to carry that momentum into this outing after getting roughed up by the Angels at home May 18, when he was tagged for seven runs and seven hits with two homers in 4 1-3 innings of an 8-7 win.

The Angels will counter with Jered Weaver (7-3, 3.01 ERA), the AL leader with 118 strikeouts who is looking to continue his strong stretch at home.

The right-hander is 3-2 with a 1.96 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 64 1-3 innings over 10 starts at Angel Stadium dating to last year. He's also 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA in his last five home starts against Texas.

Weaver appeared to be headed to another victory there Friday, only to see the bullpen squander a one-run lead before the Angels lost 4-3 in 11 innings to Colorado. He left the game after seven innings, allowing two runs and fanning 11 for a second consecutive outing.

Weaver has struggled against Hamilton, who is 7 for 18 with four doubles off him.