Twins' Santana dominates KC

Freddy Garcia won another game for the White Sox.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Johan Santana has mastered the Kansas City Royals.
Eleven days after pitching a three-hit shutout against Kansas City, Santana allowed one hit in eight innings Saturday to lead the Minnesota Twins over the Royals 4-1.
"He's definitely on top of his game right now," Kansas City's Dee Brown said. "He threw me a 95 mph fastball and it was like it exploded out of his hand. By the time I saw it, it was beyond me."
Lew Ford and Justin Morneau backed Santana with consecutive home runs, helping the Twins stop a five-game losing streak.
"I was able to throw my fastball for strikes and throw it in and out, and throw my changeup," Santana said. "This time they knew what was coming sometimes and they were able to take pitches. They made me throw a lot of pitches. Everything works out when you're able to throw your fastball for strikes."
On a roll
Santana (8-6) is 6-2 with a 1.43 ERA in his last eight starts. His two losses in this streak were 2-1 to Chicago and 2-0 to Detroit.
"It's a shame a guy can't go to the All-Star game because we aren't scoring any runs for him," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Santana struck out nine to raise his league-leading total to 145, walked four and hit a batter. Joe Nathan finished for his 24th save in 25 chances, completing the first one-hitter for the Twins since Scott Erickson's at Boston on July 24, 1992.
Kansas City had not been one-hit since a trip to Pittsburgh on July 13, 2001.
"He's a guy who throws three pitches that are above major league average -- a fastball that hits 96, 97 miles an hour, a slider and a changeup," the Royals' Mike Sweeney said. "He can throw all three for strikes any time he wants."
Berroa doubled
Angel Berroa's leadoff double in the second inning was Kansas City's only hit.
"It was a fastball away," Santana said. "I was trying to throw the fastball in there and trying to give him a different look outside. But it just stayed in the middle of the plate."
Kansas City got an unearned run in the eighth when Alberto Castillo walked, advanced on a wild pitch, continued to third on catcher Henry Blanco's throwing error and scored on David DeJesus' grounder.
Jimmy Gobble (5-7) allowed four runs and five hits in six innings, dropping to 0-3 against the Twins this year and 0-4 in his career.
Minnesota went ahead in the sixth on doubles by Luis Rivas and Jacque Jones. Ford, in a 1-for-23 skid, hit his 10th homer. Morneau, called up this week to replace the disabled Doug Mientkiewicz, then connected for a 4-0 lead.
Kansas City squandered a scoring opportunity in the second when Berroa doubled and was sacrificed to third. The Twins pitched out when he started home on an attempted squeeze and he was caught stealing.
"We knew it wasn't going to take many runs the way Johan was pitching," Ford said.
MINNESOTAKANSAS CITY
abrhbiabrhbi
ShStwrt dh4010DJesus cf4001
JJones rf3111Grffnno 2b2000
LFord lf3112MiSwy dh4000
Mrneau 1b4111Harvey 1b4000
THnter cf4000Berroa ss3010
Koskie 3b4010DBrwn lf2000
CGzmn ss3000Rlaford rf2000
HBlnco c4010ACstillo c2100
Rivas 2b4110JBtista 3b3000
Totals33474Totals26111
Minnesota000004000--4
Kansas City000000010--1
E--HBlanco (3), ACastillo (1), Gobble (3). DP--Kansas City 1. LOB--Minnesota 5, Kansas City 4. 2B--JJones (13), Rivas (10), Berroa (14). HR--LFord (10), Morneau (3). SB--LFord (12), Koskie (6). CS--Berroa (4). S--DBrown.
IPHRERBBSO
Minnesota
Santana W,8-6811049
Nathan S,24100000
Kansas City
Gobble L,5-7654404
Huisman220010
Bukvich100010
HBP--by Santana (Berroa), by Gobble (LFord). WP--Santana 2. Umpires--Home, Ed Rapuano; First, Ted Barrett; Second, Rick Reed; Third, Alfonso Marquez. T--2:30. A--30,094.
White Sox 5, Athletics 2
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Freddy Garcia won for the third time in four starts since his trade to the White Sox.
Paul Konerko, Carlos Lee and Aaron Rowand homered for the White Sox, who won for only the second time in their last 17 games at Oakland.
Garcia (7-8) is 3-1 with a 3.95 ERA since Seattle dealt him to the White Sox on June 27, and he improved to 5-0 in six day games this season. He allowed two runs -- one earned -- and two hits in 62/3 innings, struck out six and walked two.
Damaso Marte pitched 11/3 innings, and Shingo Takatsu finished the four-hitter to remain perfect in six save chances.
Mark Redman (6-7) lost his fourth straight start, his longest losing streak since an eight-game skid from May 15, 2001, and May 15, 2002. He allowed five runs and six hits in seven innings.
After allowing eight homers in his first 14 starts, Redman has allowed 11 in his last four. Chicago is on pace to hit a team-record 235 homers.
Erubiel Durazo drove in two runs for the A's, who lost for the sixth time in nine games.
Konerko put Chicago ahead in the second with his 23rd homer, his eighth in his last 20 games, and Ben Davis singled for a 2-0 lead.
After an error by shortstop Jose Valentin in the fourth, Durazo tied the score with a two-run double.
Lee homered for a 3-2 lead in the sixth, and Rowand hit a two-run drive in the seventh.
CHICAGOOAKLAND
abrhbiabrhbi
Rwand cf4112Kotsay cf4000
Vlentin ss3000McLmr 2b3000
MOrdz dh4000Scutaro 2b1000
CaLee lf4111EChavz 3b3110
Knerko 1b3111Dye rf3100
Crede 3b4000Httberg 1b3000
Brchrd rf3110Durazo dh4012
Uribe 2b4010Crosby ss4000
BDavis c3111Kielty lf4010
Mlhuse c4010
Totals32565Totals33242
Chicago020001200--5
Oakland000200000--2
E--Valentin (13), Konerko (4), Crede (6). DP--Oakland 1. LOB--Chicago 3, Oakland 7. 2B--Durazo (16), Kielty (10). HR--Rowand (10), CaLee (12), Konerko (23). SB--EChavez (5).
IPHRERBBSO
Chicago
FGarcia W,7-86 2-322126
Marte1 1-310012
Takatsu S,6110000
Oakland
MRedman L,6-7765533
Lehr200000
Umpires--Home, Rob Drake; First, Angel Hernandez; Second, Mark Wegner; Third, Larry Young. T--2:36. A--26,285.
Orioles 3, Devil Rays 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Baltimore's Miguel Tejada had three hits and an RBI.
Tejada, batting .356 with 27 RBIs in his last 29 games, went 3-for-4 after going hitless in his first two games since the All-Star break, when he won the Home Run Derby.
Lopez (7-5) allowed one run on five hits, struck out one and walked five in 51/3 innings. Relievers Buddy Groom, B.J. Ryan, Jason Grimsley and Jorge Julio held Tampa Bay in check the rest of the way, with Julio working the ninth to earn his 14th save in 16 opportunities.
Julio gave up a solo homer to Aubrey Huff with two outs before getting Jose Cruz Jr. on a popup.
The loss was the sixth in seven games for the Devil Rays, who have been held to just 19 runs during the stretch. They were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position against Lopez and needed a first-inning wild pitch to get their only run home from third against the Baltimore right-hander.
Grimsley struck out Rey Sanchez with the bases loaded to end the eighth, and Tampa Bay stranded 11 while finishing 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
The Orioles made it 1-1 by scoring an unearned run on a bizarre sequence that began with Tejada doubling off the right-field wall with two outs in the third. Tejada rounded second, stumbled and fell before scrambling to his feet to continue to third.
Sanchez's relay throw from shallow right -- which should have easily nailed Tejada -- skipped past third baseman Huff for a throwing error, allowing the Orioles' All-Star to score.
BALTIMORETAMPA BAY
abrhbiabrhbi
BRbrts 2b5120Crwfrd lf5020
Newhn 3b4000Baldelli cf5010
Tejada ss4131Huff 3b4211
RPlmo 1b3010JoCruz rf5010
JvLopz c3100TMrtnz 1b2000
Bigbie lf3000Lugo ss3010
Hrst Jr rf3010Fick dh2000
LLopez dh3001Cantu dh1000
Raines cf4000THall c2000
Matos cf0000RSnchz 2b4010
Totals32372Totals33271
Baltimore001110000--3
Tampa Bay100000001--2
E--BRoberts 2 (6), RSanchez (2). DP--Baltimore 1. LOB--Baltimore 7, Tampa Bay 11. 2B--BRoberts 2 (28), Tejada 2 (22), Crawford (18), RSanchez (9). HR--Huff (15). SB--Crawford (39). CS--Hairston Jr. (6). SF--LLopez.
IPHRERBBSO
Baltimore
RLopez W,7-65 1-351151
Groom110001
BRyan100011
Grimsley2-300001
Julio S,14111100
Tampa Bay
Brazelton L,2-34 2-353242
Harper2 1-300004
Colome120001
LCarter100000
HBP--by Grimsley (THall). WP--RLopez, Brazelton. Umpires--Home, Andy Fletcher; First, Tim Welke; Second, Gary Cederstrom; Third, Jim Reynolds. T--3:11. A--18,571.
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