Ervin Santana was worth every penny Sunday afternoon.
Santana pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out 10 and walking none, as the Twins beat Houston 7-5 at Target Field to win the three-game set in front of an announced crowd of 28,877.
Coming into Sunday, Santana likely carried the label of the Twins' biggest disappointment this season. After signing a four year, $55 million deal in the offseason, he was suspended for the first half of the season after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
In his first 10 starts since his return, Santana was 2-4 with a 6.