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MINNEAPOLIS - The last time he faced the Yankees, Johan Santana and the Twins were knocked out of the 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.
Santana's last start against the Yankees came in Game 4 of the 2003 division series. The Yankees roughed him up for six early runs and eliminated the Twins from the postseason.
Jeter said he doesn't remember facing Santana in October.
He won't forget this game.
Santana 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 inning, sending the star sprawling.
"That's a great lineup over there, they have some very good hitters," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He went right at 'em."
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 division leaders. Jacque Jones also homered for Minnesota, which won its fourth in six games and sent New York to its third straight loss.
"It's great to beat one of the best teams, but we showed and we proved that we can face any team," Santana said.
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 end Jeter's 17-game hitting streak, which tied his career high.
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.
"Look at his numbers," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He'll make anybody say, "Wow!' "
Santana fared much better than Mussina, who made his first start since July 6; he went on the disabled list the next day with a stiff right elbow. Before the game, Torre said he hoped to get at least five innings out of Mussina, but he didn't have much on his pitches and former Devil Ray Tanyon Sturtze came out for the fifth with the Twins leading 4-0.
A'S 5, ORIOLES 4: Erubiel Durazo hit three homers and drove in all visiting Oakland's runs, and Mark Mulder became the majors' first 16-game winner.
The Athletics 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 in the eighth to break the tie and put Mulder in position to win his 16th.
RED SOX 6, BLUE JAYS 4: Tim Wakefield pitched eight strong innings and host Boston moved a season-high 15 games over .500.
Kevin Millar and Bill Mueller drove in two each for the Red Sox, who improved to 67-52 with their ninth win in 12 games. Boston completed its first series sweep since July 6-8 against Oakland.
RANGERS 5, INDIANS 2: Hank Blalock homered twice, Kenny Rogers earned his 15th win and host Texas extended its winning streak to six. Blalock went 3-for-4 with a homer in the fourth and a two-run shot in the sixth, breaking out of a 10-for-64 slide spanning 19 games.
ROYALS 3, MARINERS 2: John Buck hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth to lead host Kansas City. Seattle rightfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who leads the majors with a .366 batting average, left with a mild concussion in the third when he was beaned by rookie starter Jimmy Serrano.
WHITE SOX 9, TIGERS 2: Aaron Rowand homered twice, including his first career grand slam, and Jose Contreras won his third straight decision for host Chicago.