DETROIT -- The Minnesota Twins are finally seeing the Hector Santiago they expected when they acquired him from the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline.Santiago held the Detroit Tigers to one run in 5 2/3 innings on Thursday as the Twins earned a split of the four-game series with a 5-1 win.Hector had to dance out of trouble a few times, but he did a nice job, Twins manager Paul Molitor said. If he pitches like this, his spot with us next year will take care of itself.Santiago lost his first four starts with the Twins, posting a 10.89 ERA, but hes 2-0 in the last four with a 1.82 ERA.I made some adjustments when I got here, but I ended up leaving a bunch of pitches over the plate, he said. Now Im back to trying to throw good pitches, not just getting strike one.Santiago only got one groundball out and three strikeouts.I had really good command of the fastball, so I was able to keep jamming guys up and in, he said. They kept popping it up, so I kept throwing it.The Tigers can little afford losses in the crowded AL wild-card race. Detroit came into the series with a 10-2 record against Minnesota.This is obviously not what we wanted, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. Any time you lose four out of seven, it isnt a good homestand.Mike Pelfrey (4-10) lost in his first major-league appearance since July 31. He started the game with a 60-pitch limit, but only lasted 36, giving up four runs on five hits in 1 2/3 innings.The Twins took the lead in the second on Max Keplers RBI single, and he moved to third when Miguel Cabrera missed a pick-off attempt. Eduardo Escobar singled to make it 2-0, and Eddie Rosario beat out a bunt single.Juan Centeno bunted the runners over, and Pelfrey retired Byron Buxton. That brought up Brian Dozier with two on, two out and first base open. Despite his torrid numbers in the second half, Ausmus decided to pitch to him.With the bases loaded, you dont have any room to maneuver, he said. If he grounds out to third, no one is asking me about it.Instead, Dozier lined a soft single to left to give the Twins a 4-0 lead and bring Blaine Hardy out of the bullpen.Our guys were going to attack Mikes fastball, Molitor said of Pelfrey, who spent the last three seasons with the Twins. That helped us get those two early runs, and then Dozier came up with that huge hit to get the lead from two to four.The Tigers had two runners on in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but Santiago escaped all three jams without allowing a run.TRAINERS ROOMTwins: 3B Miguel Sano flew back to Minnesota to have more tests run on his sore back. Sano left Mondays game, and said that the problem hasnt improved. He will miss the weekend series against the Mets, but could return next week when the Twins return home.OLYMPIC WEEK CONCLUDESFor the fourth day in a row, the Tigers had a Rio Olympic medalist throw out the ceremonial first pitch. On Thursday, it was swimmer Connor Jaeger, who won silver in the 1,500-meter freestyle. Jaeger swam for Michigan.PITCHING WOESWith the Tigers fighting for a playoff spot, they have been badly let down by their starting pitching. In the last three games of the Twins series, Pelfrey, Anibal Sanchez and Matt Boyd combined to allow 17 runs in 9 1/3 innings.UP NEXTTwins: Travel to New York for a three-game weekend series against the Mets. Friday night, Minnesotas Jose Berrios (2-6. 9.27) faces New Yorks Bartolo Colon (13-7, 3.27).Tigers: Head to Cleveland for a three-game series and their last chance to get back into the AL Central race. Rookie of the Year favorite Michael Fulmer (10-6, 2.76) goes up against Cy Young candidate Corey Kluber (16-9, 3.05) in the opener. Roger Clemens Jersey .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Roberto Alomar Jersey . The 17-year-old native of Marystown, N.L., pulled out of Skate Canada International last month in Saint John, N.B., with the same problem. http://www.cheapbluejaysjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-troy-tulowitzki-jersey . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. Marcus Stroman Jersey . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. J.A. Happ Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. ATLANTA -- Georgia Tech has already locked up its spot in a bowl game.Thats not enough for the Yellow Jackets.Coming off an upset at Virginia Tech, coach Paul Johnsons team is eager to keep pushing toward a nine-win season. The Jackets (6-4, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) will need to win out to accomplish that goal, beginning with Saturdays game against Virginia.Johnson noted that Georgia Tech has reached nine wins only seven times in the last three decades.I dont think anybody on our team wanted to be 6-6 when the season started, he said. You have goals and you try to play for them. My job as a coach is when it looks like those initial goals are gone, try to find a carrot to stick in front of them to say, `Hey, heres what were trying to do now.Virginia (2-8, 1-5) doesnt have much left to play for except pride. The Cavaliers are mired in a five-game losing streak under first-year coach Bronco Mendenhall.These kids are resilient and theyre tough, said Mendenhall, who is assured of his first losing season in 12 years as a head coach. The outcome and the record at this point doesnt show. But my internal day-to-day with these guys is really, really enjoyable. I think theres a super foundation being laid at least in terms of expectation.---Some other things to watch for when Georgia Tech hosts Virginia at Bobby Dodd Stadium:NEW QUARTERBACK: Virginia is going back to a familiar name at quarterback. Fifth-year senior Matt Johns is getting a chance to close out his up-and-down career as the starter, taking over for struggling Kurt Benkert. Johns started 15 games the past two years but had not played any quarterback this season until he took over for Benkert in last weeks loss to Miami. This is a little bit different experience, because I havent played all year, Johns said. But I think having the experience from the past couple years is beneficial going into this situation, in terms of knowing how to attack a game plan and move forward to be successful on Saturday.THOMAS RETURNS: Justin Thomas is set to return at quarterback for Georgia Tech after sitting out last weeks game with an injury. Thomas ranks second on the team in ruushing with 561 yards and five touchdowns, and hes thrown for 1,168 yards with seven TDs and only one interception.dddddddddddd While backup Matthew Jordan did a brilliant job running the offense against Virginia Tech, rushing for 121 yards and two scores, Thomas is the teams unquestioned offensive leader and provides more of a threat in the passing game.MENDENHALL VS. TRIPLE OPTION: The Virginia coach is familiar with Georgia Techs unique triple-option offense, having coached against it twice -- and easily winning both meetings -- in his previous post at Brigham Young. Also while at BYU, he had plenty of experience facing a similar scheme at Air Force, going 5-1 against the Falcons. Hes proven that he knows what hes doing stopping the option offense, Cavaliers linebacker Zach Bradshaw said. Im sure whatever we do this week, if we execute it like were supposed to, will work.IMPROVED DEFENSE: After getting torched for 1,195 yards and 83 points in its two previous games, Georgia Tech came up with a stout defensive effort against Virginia Tech. The Yellow Jackets forced four turnovers and shut down the Hokies until giving up meaningless touchdowns on their final two possessions. We got a little juice going. I hope we can carry it over, Johnson said. Im sure they were tired of hearing about their struggles.JOHNSONS FUTURE: There has been speculation about Johnsons future, especially with Georgia Tech bringing on a new athletic director, Todd Stansbury. The Yellow Jackets went 3-9 a year ago, and a three-game losing streak knocked them out of contention for the ACC title this season. Johnson said hes proud of his record in nine years at Georgia Tech and doesnt worry about his job security. If they think they can get somebody better, they ought to go get `em, he said. Thats certainly their right.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .---For more college football coverage: www.collegefootball.ap.org Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap Stitched Jerseys Disocunt Football Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China NFL Jerseys From China Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Store ' ' '