Twins get 8 hits off Santana, but lose 5-1

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire watched the last few innings of Ervin Santana's no-hitter live on television last week, so he had a decent scouting report.

But it didn't seem to matter how prepared the Twins were. They got eight hits against the Los Angeles Angels right-hander, but still lost 5-1 Tuesday night as Santana went the distance for the second straight outing — the first time that's happened in his seven-year career.

"It was a tough night offensively," Gardenhire said. "We faced a pretty good pitcher. We knew what he'd done the last time out, and he was pretty good again. We tried to make him work early in the game, but he used his breaking ball and made pitches when he had to. He looks pretty confident right now — and coming off a no-hitter, I'm sure he would."

Twins lefty Brian Duensing (8-9) gave up five runs and eight hits in six innings, including a three-run homer by rookie Mark Trumbo in the fourth and a solo shot by Torii Hunter in the fifth. Duensing's only other career start against the Angels was on Aug. 20, 2010, when he held them to one run over eight innings in a 7-2 win.

Trumbo's 20th homer made him the sixth rookie in Angels history to reach that figure and the first since Tim Salmon, who set a club record for rookies with 31 in 1993. The 25-year-old first baseman snapped a 1-1 tie in the fourth with a three-run shot, driving an 0-2 pitch an estimated 450 feet into the rock pile in left-center after a leadoff walk to Vernon Wells and a double by Howie Kendrick.

"That was a bad walk. It wasn't like I was even close," Duensing said. "Even that 3-0 pitch I didn't think that was a strike, but he gave it to me. Walks will kill you, especially leadoff walks. I didn't execute very well. Every time I thought I threw a good pitch that was down, they took it for a ball or a strike, and every time I left the ball up they were able to take advantage."

Hunter made it 5-1 in the fifth with his 14th of the season and his fourth career homer against the Twins, the team he spent his first 10 big league seasons with before signing a five-year, $90 million free agent contract with the Angels in November 2007.

Coming off his gem last week at Cleveland, Santana became the first pitcher in the majors to follow a no-hitter with a complete-game victory since Tommy Greene did it with Philadelphia in May 1991.

There was no no-hit drama for Santana this time.

After pitching the first solo no-hitter for the Angels since 1984 on Wednesday, Santana gave up a leadoff single in the second inning to Jason Kubel. Johnny Vander Meer remains the only pitcher to throw back-to-back no-hitters in major league history. He did it in 1938 for Cincinnati.

Santana struck out six and walked two in his 193rd career start, posting consecutive complete games for the first time in the big leagues. He tied a season high with 121 pitches and worked with runners on base in every inning but the seventh.

Santana escaped a jam in the sixth with he struck out Jim Thome and Danny Valencia with runners at first and second.

"Santana knew what he was doing. He had a good snapper going tonight, and he used that quite a bit," Gardenhire said.

The closest any Angels pitcher ever came to back-to-back no-hitters was on July 19, 1973, against Baltimore, when Nolan Ryan plunked Brooks Robinson leading off the eighth and Mark Belanger followed with a single.

Trumbo's 20th homer made him the sixth rookie in Angels history to reach that figure and the first since Tim Salmon, who set a club record for rookies with 31 in 1993. The 25-year-old first baseman snapped a 1-1 tie in the fourth with a three-run shot, driving an 0-2 pitch an estimated 450 feet into the rock pile in left-center after a leadoff walk to Vernon Wells and a double by Howie Kendrick.

"That was a bad walk. It wasn't like I was even close," Duensing said. "Even that 3-0 pitch I didn't think that was a strike, but he gave it to me. Walks will kill you, especially leadoff walks. I didn't execute very well. Every time I thought I threw a good pitch that was down, they took it for a ball or a strike, and every time I left the ball up they were able to take advantage."

Angels manager Mike Scioscia served an automatic one-game suspension he received from Major League Baseball as a result of ace right-hander Jered Weaver's actions on Sunday in Detroit. Weaver, upset at the way Carlos Guillen showboated on the way to first base on his home run, threw his next pitch over the head of the Tigers' next hitter — Alex Avila — and was ejected.

Weaver received a six-game suspension, which he is appealing.

NOTES: A ceremonial first pitch was thrown by newly inducted Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, who pitched for the Twins and Angels, and threw a no-hitter against the Angels in 1977 at Anaheim while with the Texas Rangers. ... Vander Meer's no-hitters came during a stretch of eight starts in which he went 8-0 with seven complete games and a 1.38 ERA. ... Santana has not allowed a home run in his last six starts, after giving up 13 over his previous 10 outings. ... Of the 26 pitchers who have thrown more than one no-hitter in the majors, five of them had two in the same year. In addition to Vander Meer, Allie Reynolds accomplished the feat with the 1951 Yankees, Virgil Trucks with the 1952 Tigers, Nolan Ryan with the 1973 Angels and Roy Halladay with the 2010 Phillies. Halladay had one in the regular season and another in the playoffs.

DP_Minnesota 1, Los Angeles 2. LOB_Minnesota 8, Los Angeles 4. 2B_Cuddyer (20), V.Wells (8), H.Kendrick (25), Bourjos (18), Bo.Wilson (4). HR_Tor.Hunter (14), Trumbo (20). SB_Span (5). S_Bo.Wilson.

HBP_by E.Santana (Plouffe).

Umpires_Home, Alfonso Marquez; First, Ed Hickox; Second, Ed Rapuano; Third, Brian O'Nora.

T_2:22. A_37,565 (45,389).