MINNEAPOLIS — Johan Santana already has one AL Cy Young Award and appears to be closing in on another.

After his latest dazzling effort brought the Minnesota Twins within striking distance of Detroit in the AL Central, teammate Nick Punto thinks Santana deserves consideration for another honor — MVP.

The left-hander struck out 11 and allowed only two hits in Minnesota's 12-1 victory over the Tigers yesterday, pitching into the seventh inning and pulling the Twins within two games of first-place Detroit.

"Santana just dominates," said Punto, who had four hits and three RBIs. "There's a psychological thing going on, too, with teams who come in here against him."

The Twins haven't lost a Santana home start since Aug. 6, 2005, going 22-0 in that span. Santana (18-5) is 15-0 with a 1.92 ERA during that stretch and hasn't lost a game at all since the All-Star break. He leads the majors in wins, strikeouts and ERA.

Santana said individual awards are nice, but "I'm more about trying to win a World Series."

Torii Hunter had three hits and scored three runs for the Twins, who trailed the Tigers by 10 1/2 games just more than a month ago, and extended their wild-card lead to 1 1/2 games over Chicago.

Indians 5, White Sox 2: Victor Martinez hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth inning off Brandon McCarthy (3-7) and C.C. Sabathia (11-9) pitched a four-hitter with nine strikeouts as Cleveland defeated host Chicago.

Athletics 9, Devil Rays 7: Frank Thomas homered for the fifth consecutive game and drove in three runs, and teammates Eric Chavez, Marco Scutaro and Nick Swisher each homered as AL West-leading Oakland beat host Tampa Bay.

Angels 4, Blue Jays 3: Jered Weaver (11-2) allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings, and struck out Troy Glaus with the bases loaded in the fifh inning, and Francisco Rodriguez earned his major-league leading 42st save as host Los Angeles beat Toronto.

Yankees 9, Orioles 4: Derek Jeter extended his career-high hitting streak to 20 games, going 2 for 4 with a homer and four RBIs, and Jaret Wright (10-7) allowed three runs and three hits in 6 1/3 innings to lead New York over host Baltimore.

Red Sox 9, Royals 3: David Ortiz hit his career-best 48th homer, a two-run shot in the sixth inning, and Wily Mo Pena drove in two runs to help host host Boston snap a three-game skid with a win over Kansas City.

Rangers 4, Mariners 2: Michael Young got three hits and drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning as Texas defeated host Seattle and ended a three-game losing streak.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Marlins 3, Phillies 0: Dontrelle Willis (10-11) threw a three-hitter and struck out a career-best 12, and retired his last 13 batters for his first shutout of the season as host Florida defeated Philadelphia.

Brewers 4, Astros 0: Dave Bush (11-10) pitched a five-hitter and struck out a season-high 10 in his third career shutout, and Tony Graffanino and Mike Rivera homered as host Milwaukee defeated Houston.

Dodgers 9, Mets 1: Eric Stults (1-0) allowed one run in six innings in his first major league start, and Kenny Lofton had a three-run triple and Nomar Garciaparra added a three-run homer and four RBIs as Los Angeles routed host New York.

Reds 4, Pirates 2: Bronson Arroyo (13-9) allowed two runs and struck out seven batters in eight innings and Brandon Phillips drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth inning to help host Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh.

Braves 2, Cubs 1: Lance Cormier (3-4) allowed one run in seven innings and struck out a career-high 10, and Brian McCann doubled in the go-ahead run in the sixth as Atlanta defeated visiting Chicago.

Rockies 13, Nationals 9: Todd Helton, hitless in his previous 10 plate apperances, hit a tiebreaking grand slam in the seventh inning and Matt Holliday homered and drove in three runs as host Colorado outslugged Washington.

Diamondbacks 9, Cardinals 7: Tony Clark and Eric Byrnes hit solo home runs in the eighth inning off Jorge Sosa (3-11) as host Arizona knocked off NL Central leading St. Louis for the third straight game after losing the series opener.

Padres 10, Giants 2: Brian Giles drove in four runs and Woody Williams (8-5) allowed one run in six innings as San Diego defeated host San Francisco.