MINNEAPOLIS – The last time he faced the Yankees, Johan Santana and the Minnesota Twins were knocked out of the American League playoffs.

This time, Santana knocked down Derek Jeter and silenced New York’s powerful lineup.

The left-hander took a shutout into the eighth inning Wednesday night and won his fifth straight start, spoiling Mike Mussina’s return from the disabled list by pitching Minnesota to a 7-2 victory.

Shannon Stewart went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs for the Twins, who have outscored the Yankees 15-4 in winning the first two of a three-game series between AL division leaders.

Jacque Jones also homered for Minnesota, which won for the fourth time in six games and sent New York to its third consecutive loss.

Santana gave up two runs and five hits in seven-plus innings with six strikeouts and one walk.

He retired 11 in a row during one stretch and helped put an end to Jeter’s 17-game hitting streak, which tied a career high for the Yankees’ shortstop.

He brought a loud roar from the crowd when he barely missed hitting Jeter in the head with a high-and-tight pitch in the third, sending the Yankees’ star sprawling to the ground.

Since the All-Star break, Santana is 6-0 with a 1.82 ERA, perhaps pushing him to the front of the AL Cy Young Award race.

After giving up only two hits through the first seven innings, Santana (13-6) allowed three straight hits to open the eighth and a run-scoring wild pitch. He was relieved by Grant Balfour, and the Yankees scored another run on Miguel Cairo’s RBI groundout.

Joe Nathan struck out two in the ninth, extending his streak to 29 scoreless innings spanning 28 appearances.

The crowd of 41,125 gave Santana a standing ovation as he walked to the dugout.

Rangers 5, Indians 2

ARLINGTON, Texas – Hank Blalock homered twice, Kenny Rogers earned his 15th win and the Texas Rangers extended their winning streak to six games with a 5-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Blalock went 3-for-4 with a solo homer in the fourth and a two-run shot in the sixth, breaking out of a 10-for-64 slide spanning his previous 19 games. He had gone 28 games without a homer since July 19.

Angels 6, Devil Rays 4

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.- Bartolo Colon pitched into the ninth inning for his seventh win in eight starts, Vladimir Guerrero homered and drove in two runs, and the Anaheim Angels held on for a 6-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Royals 3, Mariners 2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – John Buck hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning to lead the Kansas City Royals to a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Seattle right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, the majors’ leading hitter, left the game with a mild concussion in the third inning when he was hit in the head by a pitch from rookie starter Jimmy Serrano.

Athletics 5, Orioles 4

BALTIMORE – Erubiel Durazo hit three homers and drove in all five of Oakland’s runs, and Mark Mulder became the majors’ first 16-game winner by pitching the Athletics to a 5-4 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

The A’s trailed 4-0 before Durazo hit a two-run homer in the fourth and a two-run shot in the sixth. He then connected off B.J. Ryan (3-3) in the eighth to break the tie and put Mulder in position to win his 16th.

White Sox 9, Tigers 2

CHICAGO – Aaron Rowand homered twice – including his first career grand slam – and Jose Contreras won his third straight decision for Chicago in the White Sox’s 9-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

Giants, Expos split

SAN FRANCISCO -Barry Bonds homered for the third time in two days to help lead the San Francisco Giants to a 14-4 rout of the Montreal Expos in the second game of a doubleheader after losing the opener 6-2. Bonds connected for a solo shot off Francis Beltran in the fifth inning of the nightcap for his 34th homer.

Astros 9, Phillies 8

PHILADELPHIA – Carlos Beltran’s two-run double in the eighth inning helped Houston beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-8 after Roger Clemens joined Andy Pettitte on the Astros’ injury list.

Clemens is day to day after straining his right calf running to first base on his two-run single in the fourth. The six-time AL Cy Young Award winner gave up four runs in three innings.