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It’s not cool to be chasing Rangers

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Reporting from New York — The Texas Rangers, who have gone 25-12 since June 8, won’t be the only red-hot thing to greet the Angels in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday.

The forecast for a four-game series against the first-place Rangers calls for highs of 96, 97, 97 and 95 degrees, with humidity expected to push the heat index above 100 degrees each day.

“Well, at least they’re all night games,” said Angels ace Jered Weaver, who will oppose left-hander Cliff Lee in Thursday night’s opener. “Hopefully, we can play with the sprinklers on.”

Weaver threw seven shutout innings in a 2-1 win over Texas on July 1, but that was in Anaheim. He is 1-3 with a 4.59 earned-run average in eight starts at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Left-hander Joe Saunders, who will start Friday night, has struggled even more in Arlington, going 0-5 with an 11.68 ERA in five games there.

“The weather is not really suited for me — I can’t get used to the humidity,” Weaver said. “You’ve got to hydrate more than usual, maybe not throw as many warmup pitches and stay as cool as possible between innings.”

Center fielder Torii Hunter said he usually changes his T-shirt and jersey two or three times during games in Arlington.

“There’s no wind, it’s muggy — I usually pray for rain,” Hunter said. “But when it rains, it gets steamy. It’s like playing baseball in a Jacuzzi.”

Though seven of the next 10 games are against Texas, which holds a 5 1/2-game lead in the American League West, Manager Mike Scioscia said the Angels can’t put any added emphasis on these games.

“The pennant race is a grind, and the best way through it isn’t to squeeze the bat harder or try to throw the ball harder,” Scioscia said. “You’ve got to play this game free.

“You can’t be playing with a distraction like, ‘Hey, if I don’t get a hit here, we’ll lose to the team ahead of us and lose a game in the standings.’ We need to play well every game, whether we’re playing New York, Texas or a team with a lesser record.”

But not everyone is playing it like Scioscia.

“This is not a big series, it’s huge,” said Angels pitcher Joel Pineiro, who lost Wednesday in Yankee Stadium and won’t pitch in Texas. “Whoever plays the best defense and pitches the best will win, because both teams have good offenses.”

In a pinch

After struggling during a 1-6 trip to Chicago and Oakland before the All-Star break, the Angels’ offense came to life with 16 runs and 29 hits, including five homers, in two games in New York.

But they couldn’t come up with a game-breaking hit Wednesday, failing to score after loading the bases with two outs in the sixth and seventh innings of a 10-6 loss.

In the seventh, Scioscia let the right-handed Kevin Frandsen, who singled in the fifth and sixth innings, bat against Yankees right-hander Joba Chamberlain, leaving switch-hitter Maicer Izturis on the bench. Frandsen grounded out to third with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Izturis, batting for No. 9 hitter Bobby Wilson, then led off the eighth inning with a single off Chamberlain.

“It was given consideration, but if Kevin walks or singles, it would have been a great spot for Izzy to hit next,” Scioscia said. “The way Kevin is swinging the bat, if he keeps that inning going, I have Izzy to hit for Wilson. He just rolled over a bit on a fastball.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com

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