Johan Santana

MINNEAPOLIS -- Start calling the Minnesota Twins the comeback kids. Justin Morneau hit a two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning off Mariano Rivera to lift the Twins over the Yankees, 6-5, last night for their fifth straight come-from-behind win. The Twins trailed, 5-4, heading into the ninth with one of the league's best closers on the hill. But Luis Castillo beat out an infield hit -- his fourth hit of the game -- to start the inning and advanced to third on a single by Joe Mauer, who reached second when Hideki Matsui threw to third.

Neil Walker scored on Clint Barmes' tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates rallied against Johan Santana and the New York Mets for a 5-4 victory Monday night. Mike McKenry tied it with a two-run homer in the seventh off Santana and Walker made it all the way to third in the eighth when his long drive off Jon Rauch (3-3) glanced off the glove of center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis for an error and rolled to the wall. One batter later, Barmes hit a fly to right and Walker just beat the wide throw from Lucas Duda.

Johan Santana and the New York Mets were amply pleased with his latest outing. The left-hander who missed the entire major league season last year after shoulder surgery pitched 2 2-3 innings without allowing an unearned run on Sunday in the Mets' rain-shortened 4-2 loss to the Miami Marlins. The game was called after the fifth inning. Miami shortstop Jose Reyes, who left the Mets to sign with the Marlins in the offseason, did not make the trip. "We're still building up pitches," Santana said.

Frank Francisco says he threw good pitches. The Miami Marlins hit them anyway. Francisco blew a save for the second time this season Friday, allowing two runs in the ninth as the Marlins rallied to end the New York Mets' five-game winning streak with a 6-5 victory. "We have to put that game away," Mets manager Terry Collins said. Instead, Greg Dobbs drove in the winning run with a looping two-out single. "You only can control where you throw the ball. You can't control the results," said Francisco (1-2)

NASHVILLE - Listen to any jukebox in Music City, and you understand that this is a town where at the end of the night, shot glasses and promises tend to turn up empty. It was no different this week for the Red Sox in their pursuit of Johan Santana, not that there was any evidence of Johnnie Walker Red in Theo Epstein's suite. The Sox were prepared to return home today without the two-time Cy Young Award winner, though the rebuff by the Minnesota Twins may be temporary. No one on either side is declaring that negotiations have come to an end; with no one other than Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner...

The Yankees arrived in Toronto for the start of a season-high 10-game trip, held a one-hour pregame meeting, and followed with one of their flattest performances in a season that is spinning out of control. "We're not happy campers, there's no question about that," manager Joe Torre said following New York's latest dismal defeat, 7-2 to the Blue Jays last night. New York has lost four in a row to drop 13 1/2 games behind the Red Sox in the American League East, their biggest deficit since August 1995.

Johan Santana struck out a season-high 13 in seven innings and Justin Morneau homered twice as the Minnesota Twins overpowered the Rangers, 7-1, in Arlington, Texas. Santana (5-4) broke a personal two-game losing streak, shutting down a Texas offense that had produced 28 runs in its two previous games. Santana reached double digits in strikeouts for the 35th time and fell one short of matching his career high. Sammy Sosa hit his 598th career homer for the Rangers, who struck out 18 times in the game.

CHICAGO -- The way Johan Santana sees it, this is how it's going to be the rest of the season -- the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox locked in step. At the moment, they're teams headed in different directions. Santana outpitched Jose Contreras, and Jason Bartlett hit a three-run homer as the surging Twins pulled within a game of slumping Chicago with a 4-3 victory last night. "That's the way it's going to be," Santana said. "We're going after each other pretty good.

CLEVELAND -- Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire kept his clubhouse doors closed 10 extra minutes. "The guys were a little flustered," he explained. "Sorry. " No apologies needed. This loss hurt a little more than most for the Twins. Not just because it's September, and not just because Detroit won. This one stung because it came in a game that Johan Santana started. Rookie Ryan Garko's bouncer scored Franklin Gutierrez from third in the 10th inning last night, sending the Cleveland Indians to a 5-4 win over Minnesota and dropping the Twins two games...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Johan Santana was so dominant, even the guy who managed the Devil Rays' only two hits off him had to feel lucky. "The ball happened to find my bat and find a hole," Delmon Young said. Santana became the first 17-game winner in the major leagues last night, allowing two hits over eight scoreless innings as Minnesota beat Tampa Bay, 8-0 -- the Twins' 14th win in a row over Tampa Bay. Minnesota took a 1 1/2-game lead in the AL wild-card race over the Chicago White Sox, who lost, 1-0, at Fenway Park.

Jose Reyes went hitless in his return to Citi Field and Lucas Duda lined a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning that caromed off reliever Edward Mujica, sending the New York Mets to a 2-1 victory over the Florida Marlins on Tuesday night. Johan Santana and Josh Johnson zipped through the first six innings in a crisp pitchers' duel between healthy-looking aces. Santana, coming off the shortest start of his career, struck out 11 for the Mets while Johnson whiffed nine. Both working on six days' rest, each pitcher was charged with one run and three hits in 6 2-3 innings.

Johan Santana wanted to get back on the mound immediately after his fiasco in Atlanta last week. Thanks to the weather, he'll have to be extra patient. The game between the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets was postponed because of rain Sunday and rescheduled as part of a single-admission doubleheader Monday beginning at 4:10 p.m. Rather than have Santana start one of those games, the Mets pushed him back a day to Tuesday against Jose Reyes and the Miami Marlins. "It's about the whole staff, not just Johan," manager Terry Collins said.

Johan Santana had already thrown 93 pitches. He was due up in the bottom of the fifth and it appeared to be a natural spot for a pinch hitter. So when Santana sauntered out to the on-deck circle with a runner on in a one-run game, it created quite a buzz at Citi Field. No, it had nothing to do with his ability with the bat. It was seeing the Mets' No. 1 starter ready for another inning on the mound. Santana walked the only batter he faced in the sixth but he managed to turn in another positive performance in a 4-0 loss to Stephen Strasburg and...

Johan Santana and the New York Mets were amply pleased with his latest outing. The left-hander who missed the entire major league season last year after shoulder surgery pitched 2 2-3 innings without allowing an unearned run on Sunday in the Mets' rain-shortened 4-2 loss to the Miami Marlins. The game was called after the fifth inning. Miami shortstop Jose Reyes, who left the Mets to sign with the Marlins in the offseason, did not make the trip. "We're still building up pitches," Santana said.

MINNEAPOLIS — There has been nothing romantic about the underdog Minnesota Twins meeting the big, bad New York Yankees in the postseason. There have been no heart-warming tales of the little guys overcoming long odds. No Hollywood endings for the unlikely hero against the Evil Empire. The Yankees are 9-2 against the Twins in the past decade in the first round of the American League playoffs, following 3-1 triumphs in 2003 and 2004 and a sweep last season. The domination likely has made the Yankees more hated in the Twin Cities than in any metro area outside of Boston.

Jeremy Hellickson won his major league debut, Matt Joyce had two RBIs, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-2, last night in St. Petersburg, Fla., to move into a first-place tie with the Yankees in the AL East. Hellickson (1-0) allowed two runs and three hits in seven innings, helping the Rays win for the ninth time in the last 10 games. Rays manager Joe Maddon said Hellickson’s spot start was to give the rotation an extra day off. The righthander was optioned back to Triple A Durham afterward.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Barry Zito, Frank Thomas, and the Oakland Athletics proved it was possible to beat Johan Santana -- even at the Metrodome. Zito kept Minnesota off balance with his big curveball, Thomas hit two huge home runs, and the Athletics defeated the Twins and their ace, 3-2, yesterday in the opener of their first-round AL playoff series. "First blood, I think, means a lot -- especially when you're playing on the road," Zito said. Zito quieted the Twins and their fans at the noisy, quirky ballpark for eight innings.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics caught Johan Santana on a rare off day. Nick Swisher, Eric Chavez, and Bobby Crosby each drove in runs to help Chad Gaudin to his fifth straight win as the A's beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-2, yesterday to take the series. This win could provide a nice morale boost for Oakland before the Red Sox come to town for a four-game series starting tonight. The A's must face Daisuke Matsuzaka and Curt Schilling in the series. "Beating somebody like Santana is quite a chore," A's manager Bob Geren said.

NASHVILLE - Listen to any jukebox in Music City, and you understand that this is a town where at the end of the night, shot glasses and promises tend to turn up empty. It was no different this week for the Red Sox in their pursuit of Johan Santana, not that there was any evidence of Johnnie Walker Red in Theo Epstein's suite. The Sox were prepared to return home today without the two-time Cy Young Award winner, though the rebuff by the Minnesota Twins may be temporary. No one on either side is declaring that negotiations have come to an end; with no one other than Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner...

NASHVILLE - It was after midnight in the Music City, and the Red Sox and Minnesota Twins were exchanging medical information on pitchers Johan Santana and Jon Lester, indicating that the clubs may be closing in on a deal for the two-time Cy Young Award winner. The Sox and Twins were locked in negotiations after the Yankees refused to include another top prospect, pitcher Ian Kennedy, in a package that already included top pitching prospect Phil Hughes and center fielder Melky Cabrera.