Santana Pitches Gem in Twins Victory

ANAHEIM, CA -- A masterful performance by starter Ervin Santana allowed the Minnesota Twins to salvage the final game of the series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with a 3-0 win Thursday.

Santana allowed only four hits through eight innings to shut out his former team and bring an optimistic end to an otherwise disappointing 2-4 California road trip.

The Twins, who have struggled offensively on this west coast trip, only managed five hits for the game -- but one of those was a three-run home run by Trevor Plouffe to provide the Twins all the offense they would need.

Closer Glen Perkins came on in the ninth to retire the Angels 1-2-3 to notch his 29th save of the season.

With the win, the Twins improve to 51-44 on the season and will return to Target Field Friday night to start a weekend series against the New York Yankees.

Coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. on AM 1240 WJON.