Santana, who was suspended the first 80 games after testing positive for a performance enhancing drug, held the Royals to three hits and two runs over eight innings. He threw 58 strikes in 93 pitches. “So that’s a good sign”, Yost said. “Slider was working when I need to”.
Advertisement
Twins manager Paul Molitor talked with him about the importance of finding a routine to keep himself in the right mental and physical frame for each of his four or five nightly at-bats. “I think we play with a lot of energy, a lot of fun [and] people have noticed it”.
Washington’s Clint Robinson a 30-year-old non-roster invitee in spring training hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to give the Nationals a 2-1 victory over San Francisco. I thought maybe he’d give one, but he didn’t.
Cabrera and Stanton are on the disabled list and will be replaced.
“It feels like I’m back”, Duffy said. Reliever Wade Davis has more than made a case for himself as an All-Star candidate.
Greg Holland (2-0) earned the win with a scoreless ninth inning. “As far as his tests, coming out of the game, it looks like it’s going to be like a high lat strain”, Molitor said.
Third baseman Trevor Plouffe, who had three hits Saturday, led off the second with a double.
Salvador Perez will be in the All-Star Game for the third time, starting for the second consecutive year, although last year he was an injury replacement for Baltimore’s Matt Wieters.
Mauer’s power surge in 2009 was a fluke, with many of his 28 home runs finding the first few rows of seats in left field during the final season at the Metrodome. Cain scored by racing in from third and just getting a hand onto the plate before being tagged.
“This is a good team and they’re playing well”, said the Royals’ Alex Gordon, who homered along with making two stellar plays in left. Gordon got enough of a Santana slider to send it just over the right field wall, an estimated 342 feet.
Cain went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI while Kendrys Morales also drove in a run for the Royals, who snapped a four-game skid.
“The defense they have over there is like Michael Jordan”.
The Twins increased their lead in the seventh on Torii Hunter’s sacrifice fly. “It felt like there were 11 guys out there between Cain, Escobar and Gordon”.
Hamilton who insisted beforehand he had no extra emotions facing the Angels went 1 for 3 with a double and two strikeouts.
Whatever the reason, Santana couldn’t stop laughing between innings Sunday. First baseman Eric Hosmer sports a respectable.287/.354/.437 stat line for the year, but may be log jammed by the recent success of veterans Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. The last time Kansas City had any starters was 2000, when outfielder Jermaine Dye was chosen to start.
Tampa Bay lost its sixth in a row and second straight in extra innings.
Royals manager Ned Yost said Blanton was mechanically awry in the first inning.
The Twins head into a weeklong homestand, beginning with a three-game series against the Orioles starting Monday.
Advertisement
In Oakland, rookie Mike Montgomery put together another fine start, pitching Seattle past the A’s.
