His strong effort helped the Twins move to two games back of the Astros for the second American League Wild Card spot with 12 games to play. Santana allowed one run over seven-plus innings to mark his fifth start of going at least seven frames. The right-hander is 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 36 innings over those five outings.
"He was really good," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He got my attention in the first inning because his command wasn't great and he was kind of finessing his fastball, but I know he knows how to pitch that way, too.