MINNEAPOLIS - Nearing a third straight division title, Johan Santana and the Twins aren't short on motivation. Their rivals, the fading White Sox, gave them a little more.
Santana turned in another dominant start with seven shutout innings, and Minnesota used a nine-run sixth to beat Chicago 10-2 Tuesday night and extend its winning streak to seven.
Santana won his 10th straight start and 11th consecutive decision, and the Twins increased their Central lead over the White Sox to a season-high 111/2 games with 18 to play. The Indians are 14 back.
The Twins didn't arrive home until 4 a.m. Tuesday, ending an eight-day trip, and they were tired. White Sox starter Freddy Garcia woke them up in the first inning when he hit Torii Hunter in the back with a pitch.
Minnesota believed it was retaliation for Hunter's hard charge toward home that knocked over and injured catcher Jamie Burke when the teams met in Chicago in late July. Garcia insisted he was just trying to throw inside, but the damage was done.
"It angered us, and that's not the way you play the game," said Jacque Jones, who got the first hit off Garcia in the sixth to spark the big rally.
Santana is 16-2 in 19 starts since June 9 with 179 strikeouts and 62 hits in 1401/3 innings. He is one shy of the team record for consecutive wins since it moved to Minnesota in 1961, a mark set in 1991 by Scott Erickson and tied in 1997 by Brad Radke.
"To me, he's the Cy Young winner," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. "No doubt about it, he deserves it."
Lew Ford and Henry Blanco drove in two each for the Twins, who have won 11 of 13.
YANKEES 4, ROYALS 0: Mike Mussina pitched three-hit ball for eight innings and struck out a season-high 11, leading visiting New York.
Jason Giambi went 0-for-3 with a walk and a long drive to the rightfield warning track in his first start for the Yankees since July 23.
Derek Jeter hit a two-run single, helping New York bounce back from a 17-8 drubbing Monday night. The Yankees, who led the East by 101/2 in mid August, boosted the margin over second-place Boston to four, their biggest lead since they were up 41/2 before play Aug. 31. Boston comes to New York for a three-game series starting Friday.
MARINERS 3, ANGELS 2: Bobby Madritsch pitched shutout ball into the ninth to beat Jarrod Washburn, and host Seattle hung on.
Ichiro Suzuki got his first extra-base hit in 10 games, a run-scoring double in the fifth. He went 1-for-4 and with 232 hits is 25 shy of George Sisler's 84-year-old season record with 18 games left.
Former Devil Ray Randy Winn hit a two-run, two-out pinch homer in the seventh off Brendan Donnelly after Hiram Bocachica doubled off Washburn leading off.
TIGERS 11, INDIANS 3: Dmitri Young homered and matched his career high with five RBIs to power visiting Detroit and help it stop a four-game losing streak. Young went 4-for-5 with a three-run homer in the fourth off Kyle Denney, who lost in his major-league debut.
