ANAHEIM, Calif. – Garret Anderson hit a three-run homer off All-Star Johan Santana in the seventh inning and threw out the potential tying run at home in the eighth, leading the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-6 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

The win was the 13th in 16 games for the Angels, who moved a season-best 20 games over .500. The Twins lost for just the third time in 10 games.

The Twins led 5-3 entering the seventh, but Chone Figgins led off with a single and Vladimir Guerrero singled one out later. Anderson followed by hitting a 2-0 pitch from Santana for his 11th homer to chase the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner and give the Angels a one-run lead.

Jesse Crain relieved, and allowed a solo homer to Juan Rivera before retiring the side.

Joel Peralta (1-0) got the final out in the top of the seventh to record his first big-league victory. The 29-year-old right-hander began his professional career in 1999, and never pitched in the majors before this season.

The Twins drew within one run off Scot Shields in the eighth on three straight hits – the last one an infield single by Shannon Stewart. But with runners at first and third and one out, Nick Punto lined to left and Anderson gunned down Mike Ryan trying to score after the catch.

Francisco Rodriguez threw just five pitches in the ninth for his second save in as many days, and 17th in 19 chances this season.

Santana (7-5), who hasn’t won since June 8, lost his third straight decision. He allowed nine hits and six runs in 6 1-3 innings while walking three and striking out three. He has a big league-leading 143 strikeouts.

Minnesota’s Mike Redmond matched a career high with four hits and drove in a season-high three runs in a losing cause.

Tigers 7, Indians 3

CLEVELAND – Jeremy Bonderman allowed two runs and five hits over eight innings and the Detroit Tigers defeated the Cleveland Indians 7-3.

Chris Shelton had three of Detroit’s 15 hits as the Tigers won their second straight game and fourth in their last 14. Cleveland dropped to 9-4 since June 26.

Bonderman (11-5) matched his career high for wins, set last year when he went 11-13 following a 6-19 rookie season. The right-hander improved to 5-1 in six starts since June 11. He came within three outs of his third complete-game win in four starts.

The 22-year-old struck out five and walked two as he became the first Detroit pitcher to win 11 games before the All-Star break since Bill Gullickson in 1991.

Troy Percival got the final out for his seventh save in nine attempts.

Ivan Rodriguez hustled the Tigers into a 1-0 lead off C.C. Sabathia (6-5) in the fourth inning, scoring from second base on a ball hit only about 5 feet.

The All-Star catcher hit a one-out single and took second on a single to left by Craig Monroe.

Brandon Inge then topped a ball in front of the plate. Catcher Victor Martinez fielded it and threw out Inge, then took the return throw from first baseman Ben Broussard and tried to apply a swipe tag while blocking the plate. Rodriguez slid around Martinez and reached under the tag with his left hand to score.

Rodriguez jammed his little finger and left three innings later.

Travis Hafner tied it in the bottom half of the fourth, hitting his 18th homer into the bleachers in right-center. It was his eighth homer in 12 games.

Sabathia yielded singles to Placido Polanco and Carlos Guillen to open the fifth. Shelton then hit a one-hopper back to the big left-hander, scoring Polanco. Shelton was safe and Guillen went to third when Sabathia threw wildly to second base for an error.

Magglio Ordonez followed with a two-run double off the left-field wall and scored one out later on another double off the wall by Rodriguez for a 5-1 lead.

Shelton singled home a run off reliever Matt Miller in the sixth to make it 6-1.

Blue Jays 8, Athletics 0

TORONTO – Ted Lilly pitched seven scoreless innings, and Vernon Wells homered in Toronto’s five-run eighth inning to help the Blue Jays beat the Oakland Athletics 8-0.

Lilly (7-8) is 4-1 with a 2.03 ERA in his last five starts after getting off to a terrible start this season. The 28-year-old left-hander allowed six hits, while striking out five and walking two. He lowered his ERA to 5.42.

Lilly escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh when second baseman Mark Ellis grounded into his second inning-ending double play of the game.

Jason Frasor pitched the eighth, and Justin Speier worked a perfect ninth for Toronto’s sixth shutout of the season.

The A’s lost for just the second time in their last 12 games. They dropped to 41-42 a day after reaching .500 for the first time since May 2.

Oakland starter Joe Blanton (5-7) lost for the first time in five starts, allowing three runs on nine hits in seven innings. He won his previous four starts.

Blanton is 0-6 on the road and 5-1 at home.

Toronto’s Reed Johnson hit a two-run single off Ryan Glynn in the eighth, and Wells followed with his three-run homer, his 16th of the season.

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Royals 5, Mariners 1

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tony Graffanino homered and tripled and Angel Berroa had three hits to help the Kansas City Royals beat Seattle 5-1.

The Royals, who broke an eight-game losing streak to the Mariners on Tuesday night, took two out of three for their first series win over Seattle since July 17-20, 2003.

Kansas City starter Runelvys Hernandez (6-9) gave up nine hits in six-plus innings, but the only run against him was unearned.

Seattle’s Aaron Sele (6-8), went six innings in his 333rd career start, giving up four runs – three earned – on 11 hits and a walk.

Mike Sweeney, Kansas City’s lone All-Star, left shortly after being hit in the left forearm by Sele’s first-inning pitch. X-rays were negative and the Royals said Sweeney was day-to-day with a contusion.

White Sox 7, Devil Rays 2

CHICAGO – Jose Contreras won for the first time in a nearly a month, Frank Thomas hit his second three-run homer in as many games and the Chicago White Sox handed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays their eighth straight loss, 7-2.

Contreras (4-5), who had not won since June 7, allowed two runs and six hits in six-plus innings as the White Sox completed the three-game sweep. He left after allowing a leadoff single to Toby Hall in the seventh.

Thomas, who hit the game-winning three-run shot in the eighth inning on Tuesday, blew this game open with a three-run homer in the fifth to make it 7-1. It was his 11th homer in 72 at-bats.

Scott Podsednik, who won the Internet fan voting for the American League’s final All-Star spot, went 2-for-4 and scored two runs. Carl Everett had three hits, and Tadahito Iguchi added two and scored twice for Chicago.

The Devil Rays’ Aubrey Huff went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and Jorge Cantu added a solo shot.

Casey Fossum (3-7) started – as scheduled – for the Devil Rays and allowed seven runs and 11 hits in six innings.

After watching the Devil Rays lose for the 10th time after taking a lead into the eighth inning Tuesday night, manager Lou Piniella vowed to have a reliever pitch the first two innings and then bring in Fossum. By Wednesday afternoon, he had changed his mind.

“It sounds intriguing,” Piniella said before the game. “It could work, and it might not work well. But we won’t know. We’ll let someone else try it first. But I’ll tell you this, I think it has a lot of merit for the minor leagues. (Starters) never get a chance to pitch meaningful innings – in the seventh, eighth and ninth.

“I think pitch counts rob young pitchers in the minor leagues of that opportunity.”

With the White Sox leading 4-1, Podsednik led off the fifth with a walk and moved to third on Iguchi’s single. Thomas then hit the 423-foot homer to left.


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