The Associated Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Before hitting a pair of RBI singles and robbing Hank Blalock of an extra-base hit with yet another defensive gem in center field, Torii Hunter nearly saw his errorless streak slip away.

The eight-time Gold Glove winner relayed the ball toward third base after an RBI single by Blalock in the first inning of the Angels’ 9-4 victory over Texas on Monday night. Shortstop Maicer Izturis was supposed to cut off the throw, but it went past him, and skipped by third baseman Chone Figgins as another run scored.

The error was charged to Figgins, and Hunter was able to extend his errorless streak to 235 consecutive games — the longest active streak among outfielders.

“I was sweating a little bit, to be honest,” said Hunter, whose last error was on Aug. 31, 2007. “I thought they would give me the error because I made the throw. But I wasn’t trying to throw him out. I was actually just trying to hit the cutoff man, but he let it go. It was a mistake on his part. I was very upset. But the streak lives.”

Jeff Mathis hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the second inning, helping the Angels snap a first-place tie with the Rangers in the AL West. Juan Rivera also had a pair of RBI singles and Jered Weaver (9-3) struck out nine over seven innings for the victory.

Weaver allowed four runs and seven hits, including a two-run homer in the seventh by Ian Kinsler that snapped a career-worst 0-for-24 drought by the Rangers’ second baseman.

“It’s hard to take Kins out for the teams we’ve been playing,” manager Ron Washington said. “I mean, how can you tell Kins: ’I’m going to sit you against Anaheim?’ or ’I’m going to sit you against Tampa Bay?’ I wasn’t going to do that. He’s got seven days left, and he’s going to learn how to grind. It’s going to help him to understand how to play when you’re a little fatigued — because he is fatigued. At this point, everybody is fatigued.”

Josh Hamilton, who was activated from the disabled list before the game, was 2 for 4 with a double and two strikeouts.

“I would have stayed down longer if I didn’t feel like I was ready,” said Hamilton, who will play in his second straight All-Star game next week. “It’s good to be back up here and be around the guys again and actually feel like part of the team, instead of just a guy hanging out.”

The Rangers had a 4 1/2 game lead on the Angels when Hamilton went on the DL on June 2, and led them by 5 1/2 games on May 30.

Both teams reached the midway point of their respective schedules. The Angels (46-35) were 48-33 at this stage last season and the Rangers (45-36) were 41-40.