Huge AL West lead allows Angels to rest Huston Street, Josh Hamilton

The Angels enter Thursday night’s series finale against the Texas Rangers with a 9 1/2-game lead over Oakland in the American League West, and that cushion has allowed them to play it safe with closer Huston Street, who will not be available for a fifth straight game because of a right-hamstring injury.

“We’re just being smart and cautious,” Street said. “There’s nothing really to say other than that. I’m not going to guess when I’ll pitch. Where we are in the standings dictates a lot. But as soon as I’m ready to pitch, I’ll pitch.”

Most teams that are pushing for a division title or playoff spot don’t have the luxury of resting key players with nagging injuries this time of year.

But the Angels have won 13 of 15 games, and their offense busted out for 63 runs and 94 hits in the last seven games, easing the burden on a pitching staff that carried the team for much of August.

Street, for instance, pitched in six or eight games from Aug. 13-20, in four straight from Aug. 27-30 and three straight last weekend against Minnesota.

“Give our hitters a lot of credit — they’ve given us all a lot of breathing room,” Street said. “It’s a team sport for a reason. For a while, the pitching staff was doing really well. For the last two weeks, the hitters have picked us up. That’s the beauty of this team. We seem to be coming through at all the right moments.

“As a bullpen, we pitched a lot because we were in so many close games. When you score runs like we have in the last four games, it makes your entire team better, because it keeps everyone fresh. Absolutely, we appreciate it. That’s their talent level too. That’s why we’ve won 90 games already.”

The Angels also don’t feel a need to rush left fielder Josh Hamilton back in the lineup, but his right-shoulder injury is more serious than Street’s. The cleanup batter will miss his seventh straight game Thursday night, and Manager Mike Scioscia said he “probably won’t test it for a couple of days.”

Hamilton took a cortisone injection last Thursday night and two more shots Tuesday night. Scioscia remains confident -- but not certain -- that Hamilton will return before the end of the regular season.

“Our concern was with the huge step backward he took [this week], but we don’t have a crystal ball,” Scioscia said. “We’ll see how this plays out and where we are over the weekend. Right now, in talking to the doctors about what he’s dealing with, it seems like he should be able to get over it in relatively short order.”