Twins 4, Giants 0: Santana throws shutout, drives in 3 runs

Tonight the game belonged to Ervin Santana. Tonight he showed us why he’s the staff ace.

The Giants best chance to score came in the bottom of the 3rd. 2B Aaron Hill (I didn’t even know he was still playing) hit a leadoff triple. Santana wriggled out of that thanks to 3 soft grounders to the infield.

Already down 1-0, the Giants pitched around C Jason Castro with 2 outs to get to Santana with the bases loaded. So, he goes and hits a 3-run double to right-center, just out of the reach of Denard Span. Baseball!

The Twins bats had other opportunities to score in this game, but came up empty. Ervin didn’t mind, as he took the ball and threw a shutout. He only gave up 4 hits and, perhaps most impressive, he only needed 91 pitches (66 strikes) to do it. For Santana, it’s his third shutout of the year, a new career high.

As for his hitting:

The time of game checked in at a brisk 2:24, it was truly a joy to watch.

Jose Berrios gets the start tomorrow, hopefully we’ll see another gem.

Studs:

Ervin Santana: 9 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K; 1-4, 3 RBI

Brian Dozier: 2-4, BB, RBI

Robbie Grossman: 3-4, R

Duds:

NO DUDS TWINS WIN

COTG: Brandon Brooks

Did the Giants intentionally give up the hit to Ervin so he'd be gassed by running the bases?

Bochy out here playing 4D chess

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