Santana goes all the way, and loses
Ervin Santana went all the way in a losing effort, throwing 117 pitches in the Twins’ 2-1 loss to the Angels at Target Field last night. Santana became only the second big-league pitcher this season to toss a nine-inning, complete-game loss; Marcus Stroman threw 100 pitches in a 2-0 loss to the Brewers on April 12. But it’s nothing new for Santana, who tossed a 97-pitch, nine-inning, complete-game loss against the Braves last July 26. He’s the first major-leaguer to throw nine-inning, complete-game losses in each of two consecutive seasons since James Shields did it for the Rays in 2012 and for the Royals in 2013.
Never mind a wing and a prayer; Angels win on a homer and a steal
Kole Calhoun homered in the first inning and Cameron Maybin stole home as part of a double steal in the sixth to account for the Angels’ runs in their 2-1 victory over Ervin Santana in Minneapolis.
You have to go back 14 years to find the last major-league game won by a team that scored just two runs—one on a homer and the other on a steal. On June 12, 2003, Cincinnati’s Austin Kearns took care of both ends of the equation in a 2-1 victory over the Devil Rays in St. Petersburg: Kearns stole home as part of a double steal in the second inning, then homered in the sixth. Wednesday’s contest was the first in Angels history in which they scored two runs on a game, on a homer and a steal of home.