(Sports Network) - Surprising right-hander Scott Feldman hopes to resuscitate the Texas Rangers' fleeting postseason hopes this evening when they continue their critical three-game set against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Texas' offensive woes continued in the opener of this critical set on Friday, as Scott Kazmir pitched six shutout innings to earn his first win in an Angels uniform, helping Los Angeles to a 2-0 win.

Kazmir (9-8) allowed six hits and struck out five Rangers without walking a batter for the Angels, who now have a 7 1/2-game lead in the American League West over Texas with 15 contests remaining.

"We're not counting anything right now," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "What we're doing is coming out here every day and starting over and creating momentum. We need wins, and whoever we're playing needs wins. So it's good to get this one behind us and move forward."

Vladimir Guerrero hit his 15th homer of the season -- a solo shot -- and Brian Fuentes earned his MLB-leading 43rd save for the Angels.

Chris Davis had two of Texas' eight hits, as the Rangers were shut out for the fourth time during their five-game losing streak. They have scored just one run over the stretch and fell seven games behind Boston in the AL wild card race with 16 games to play.

The Rangers went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position in the game and are now 0-for-27 with RISP during their losing streak.

"I thought we played a pretty good game tonight," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "I really felt good about the way we played. The pitchers did a good job, and the offense did a good job of getting men on base. I thought we were able to do some things offensively, we just didn't break through.

Tommy Hunter (8-4), coming off his first career complete game, allowed two runs on five hits and four walks in five innings to receive the loss.

Feldman, meanwhile, lost for the first time in eight decisions on Monday against Oakland, as the Athletics hit him for six runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings, dropping him to 16-5, while raising his earned run average to 3.65.

Of course, most of Feldman's success this season has come on the road, where he is 12-1. In 15 appearances (13 starts) at home he is 4-4 with a 4.88 ERA.

Feldman beat the Angels the last time he faced them and is 3-3 with a 5.33 ERA in 16 games, seven of which have been starts.

Los Angeles will counter with righty Jered Weaver, who is 15-6 with a 3.85 ERA. Weaver was charged with the loss on Monday against the New York Yankees, who reached him for five runs and eight hits in 7 1/3 frames.

Weaver defeated the Rangers the last time he faced them, striking out 11, and is 4-2 lifetime against them with a 3.31 ERA in 13 starts.

Despite Friday's setback, Texas has had its way with the AL West leaders this season, winning nine of the 13 matchups, including five of the seven games contested in Arlington.



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