Santana Shuts Down Tigers in Twins Win

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(AP) - Forget the wild card, Johan Santana and the Minnesota Twins are closing in on first place.
Unbeatable at home, Santana struck out 11 in his latest dazzling performance to pitch Minnesota past Detroit 12-1 Sunday. The 2004 AL Cy Young Award winner tossed two-hit ball into the seventh inning, pulling the Twins within two games of the AL Central-leading Tigers.
"Santana just dominates," said teammate Nick Punto, who had four hits and three RBIs. "There's a psychological thing going on, too, with teams who come in here against him."
The Twins haven't lost one of Santana's starts at the Metrodome since Aug. 6, 2005, going 22-0 in that span. The left-hander is 15-0 with a 1.92 ERA during that stretch and hasn't lost a game at all since the All-Star break.
He leads the major leagues in wins, ERA and strikeouts - the pitching version of the Triple Crown. That could make Santana (18-5) a leading candidate not only for another Cy Young Award, but AL MVP as well.
"I'm more about trying to win a World Series," Santana said.

BellSouth