Yankees no problem for Twins’ Santana

The New York Yankees put runners on, fouled off pitches and did everything they could to get to Johan Santana.

The Twins’ ace just kept going, and his season is starting to look very familiar.

Santana pitched seven crisp innings to win his fourth straight start as Minnesota beat the Yankees, 6-2, Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.

“I felt pretty good and I was throwing my fastball and locating it,” Santana said. “That was the most important thing, to locate my fastball, and I was able to do it.”

Santana (10-6) gave up two runs and four hits, struck out five and walked two. The All-Star left-hander hasn’t lost since June 9 against the Washington Nationals. He needed 74 pitches to get through four innings but finished with 107, and wanted to stay in longer.

“I wasn’t too worried,” Twins Manager Ron Gardenhire said. “I just said, ‘There he goes. It’s Johan on a big stage in New York.’ He likes it.”

Santana went 3-2 with a 1.98 earned-run average in six starts last month, another stellar June in what’s becoming a pattern for the two-time Cy Young Award winner. He is 19-6 with a 2.63 ERA in 48 games in June, the springboard for his strong closing months.

He is 45-10 with a 2.55 ERA after the All-Star break over the previous four seasons, and looks ready to do it again.

“He’s pretty much tough every day,” Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. “There aren’t too many teams that go out there and get four or five runs against him. He’s not fun to face, I’ll tell you that.”

--

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

* at Detroit 6, Cleveland 4: Kenny Rogers made another strong start after shoulder surgery, as the Tigers ended the Indians’ six-game winning streak. Rogers (3-0) yielded two runs -- one earned -- and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. He has a 1.04 ERA since coming off the disabled list June 22.

* at Boston 7, Tampa Bay 5: Tim Wakefield left with a 7-1 lead, cruising through six innings before three of the first four batters in the seventh singled. He was charged with four runs and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. It was the Devil Rays’ 10th consecutive loss.

* Baltimore 9, at Chicago 6: Orioles starter Garrett Olson was given a 6-2 lead in the fifth but couldn’t stick around long enough to earn the win in his major league debut. The left-hander from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo gave up a leadoff single to Tadahito Iguchi, then struck out Jim Thome. Manager Dave Trembley brought in Rob Bell, who retired Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye. Olson was called up from triple-A Norfolk before the game to replace Steve Trachsel, who went on the 15-day disabled list.

* Toronto 10, at Oakland 3: Matt Stairs homered and drove in four runs, Dustin McGowan pitched seven scoreless innings and the Blue Jays completed a 4-6 trip.

* Seattle 4, at Kansas City 0: Jarrod Washburn scattered five hits in eight-plus innings and John McLaren got his first win as manager of the Mariners.

* Minnesota 6, at New York 2: Johan Santana pitched seven crisp innings to win his fourth straight start and Jason Kubel hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh.

* at Texas 4, Angels 2: The Angels won six of the first seven meetings with the Rangers this season by a total score of 42-22, but Texas has come back to take the last two.