The Minnesota Twins named left-hander Adalberto Mejia as their fifth starting pitcher on Thursday.Mejia bested Tyler Duffey in the bid for the Twins' final rotation spot by compiling a 1.88 ERA and striking out 14 in 14 1/3 innings this spring.The 23-year-old Mejia will join right-handers Ervin Santana, Phil Hughes and Kyle Gibson as well as left-hander Hector Santiago in the rotation.Mejia allowed two runs on five hits in 2 1/3 innings in his lone major league appearance last season.Duffey is expected to be part of Minnesota's eight-man bullpen.

RHP Ervin Santana should return to anchor the rotation after he wasn't traded at the deadline. Santana could be traded in the offseason, but the Twins will likely look to keep Santana as a leader for the young pitchers and give the team at least one starter to count on every five days. Santana's first season in Minnesota didn't go as hoped, but he recovered this year to post a 3.38 ERA and record 149 strikeouts in 181 1/3 innings pitched. His 7-11 record wasn't indicative of his pitching. He was the one starter the Twins could rely on this season and the only one to record an ERA under 5.00.

RHP Ervin Santana finishes 7-11 with a 3.38 ERA in 30 starts. That matches his second-best ERA in his career. After beginning the season 1-7 with a 5.10 ERA in his first 12 starts, Santana went 6-4 with an AL-leading 2.41 ERA in 18 starts since June 19. "He competed and he tried to hang in there on a team that has lost a lot of games and continued to go out there and try to be professional about it," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He can stand tall. There are no shortcomings there, an ERA in the 3.3's. If I was Ervin Santana I would feel good about what I contributed and trying to give his best from day one all the way through to his last start."

RHP Ervin Santana will take the mound for Minnesota in the second game of the Thursday day-night doubleheader opposite Detroit RHP Justin Verlander. Santana tossed seven shutout innings his last time out against the Mets. He earned a no-decision in each of his two starts against Detroit earlier this season.

RHP Ervin Santana will look to extend his unbeaten streak to five starts Saturday night, when he takes the mound for the Twins in the middle game of a three-game series against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Santana didn't factor into the decision in his most recent appearance on Monday, when he gave up one run on three hits and two walks while striking out four over five innings as the Twins fell to the Detroit Tigers, 4-2. In his last four starts, Santana is 2-0 despite a 4.76 ERA, though he has allowed three runs or fewer in each of his last three starts. Santana is 3-2 3.00 ERA in five career starts against the Mets.

RHP Ervin Santana had an abbreviated, though effective, start in Detroit. Santana gave up just one run on three hits in five innings but manager Paul Molitor pulled him at that point. Santana required 95 pitches to get through those innings. Santana, who has only pitched 16 innings in his three September starts, was 9-3 against the Tigers coming into the game.

RHP Ervin Santana earned the victory Thursday despite allowing 11 hits in just five innings. He surrendered two runs and stranded 10 White Sox for his seventh win. It was Santana's shortest outing since he lasted five innings in a no-decision against the Yankees on June 25.

RHP Ervin Santana did not factor in the decision Saturday in the 8-7 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Twins led 5-0 and 7-3 but Santana allowed five hits, five walks and six runs in 6? innings. The six runs matched a season high. The five walks were the most he has allowed since he walked six on June 4, 2012 against the Seattle Mariners. He had not allowed more than three walks in any of his previous 23 starts before Saturday.

RHP Ervin Santana will make his 24th start of the season Saturday in the second game of a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. He took the loss Sunday at Kansas City despite allowing two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out a season-best 10 in seven innings. He did not factor in the decision when he faced the Blue Jays May 19 at Target Field, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts over eight innings. He is 6-7 with a 3.61 earned-run average in 18 career starts against the Blue Jays.

RHP Ervin Santana lost Sunday, although he limited the World Series champion Royals to two runs on five hits, struck out 10 and only walked one in seven innings. It was his 17th career double-figure strikeout game and his first since Sept. 5, 2015, at Houston. That was also the last time a Twins pitcher recorded double-digit strikeouts. Santana has a 1.91 ERA in his past 11 starts after beginning the season 1-7 with a 5.10 ERA in his first dozen starts.

DETROIT -- Danny Duffy won his ninth straight decision with the aid of four solo home runs, including the first of Raul Mondesi's career, as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Detroit Tigers 6-1 on Tuesday at Comerica Park.Duffy (10-1) limited the Tigers to one run on three hits while striking out five in 7 2/3 innings. He has the longest winning streak by a Royals pitcher since Jeremy Guthrie won 10 straight decisions in 2012-13.The breakthrough homer for the 21-year-old Mondesi came in his 19th game and 60th official at-bat.Alex Gordon, Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales also homered for Kansas City, which has won eight of 10. Gordon, who scored twice, stretched his hitting streak to seven gamesTigers starter Justin Verlander (12-7) allowed five runs -- three earned -- on four hits while striking out six in seven-plus innings.Blue Jays 12, Yankees 6NEW YORK -- Edwin Encarnacion and Russell Martin hit two-run homers in the eighth inning as Toronto rallied from a six-run deficit for a victory... [More]

RHP Ervin Santana tossed seven scoreless innings in a victory over the Braves in Atlanta on Tuesday, improving to 5-2 with a 1.84 ERA in his last 10 starts dating to June 19. Santana allowed more than two earned runs once in the stretch, including a 2-0 loss to the Braves in Minnesota on July 26 when he pitched a complete game. He allowed four hits while walking two and striking out six this time, improving his record to 6-9 and lowering his ERA to 3.62.

RHP Ervin Santana has won back-to-back starts, this after getting two total wins in his previous 13 starts. He struck out eight with zero walks, settling down nicely after giving up three hits in the first five at-bats.

RHP Ervin Santana went the distance Tuesday against Atlanta but took the loss, allowing two runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out five. Santana has pitched a complete game in two of his last four starts and has given up three earned runs or fewer in seven consecutive starts.

RHP Ervin Santana takes the ball in Tuesday's opener of a quick two-game series against Atlanta. Santana (3-8, 3.93 ERA) has allowed one or fewer runs in two of his last three starts, including a complete-game, two-hit shutout with eight strikeouts against Oakland July 6. Santana, who pitched for the Braves, is 1-1 with a 3.92 ERA in three career starts against them, with Nick Markakis going 12-for-40 (.300) with three home runs and 10 RBIs lifetime against him.

RHP Ervin Santana enjoyed another strong outing Wednesday, though he didn't get the win. Santana tossed seven-plus innings, holding Detroit to one run on six hits. The only run he allowed was Ian Kinsler's leadoff homer. "He was strong, he was fresh," manager Paul Molitor said. "He's been the guy that's been the most consistent starter for us. We have some guys that are throwing the ball well, but he's at the top."

RHP Ervin Santana will start Wednesday's matinee in Detroit despite getting hit on his left wrist by a line drive Friday. Santana took the loss in that outing, giving up three earned runs in 5 1/3 innings against Cleveland. In his last start before the All-Star break, Santana tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout against Oakland. The Tigers have struggled to solve Santana -- he has posted a 9-3 record and 3.27 ERA in 16 career starts in those matchups.

RHP Ervin Santana will start Wednesday's matinee despite getting hit in the left arm by a line drive against Cleveland on Friday. He'll be opposed by Tigers RHP Justin Verlander, who has won seven of his last nine decisions.

RHP Ervin Santana took the loss on Friday, allowing four runs -- three earned -- on six hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings pitched. Santana had allowed two earned runs or fewer in four-straight starts and hadn't suffered a defeat in more than a month (June 14). "It was tough, but I had a lot of positive things [to take from the start]," Santana said. "Slider, changeup, everything was good. Was able to keep the ball down for the most part."

RHP Ervin Santana tossed a complete game shutout on Wednesday, striking out eight and walking none while allowing just two hits in winning his third game of the season. It was his first complete game since he shut out Arizona on June 16, 2012, when he played for the Los Angeles Angels. Five days after throwing a season-high 117 pitches and getting through 6 1/3 innings against Texas, Santana needed an even 100 pitches to retire 27 of the 29 men he faced. It was Santana's fourth-straight game of allowing two earned runs or fewer.