The Minnesota Twins' Johan Santana has become the first pitcher in baseball's major leagues to win 17 games this season. He allowed just two hits over eight scoreless innings Tuesday as the Twins blanked the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 8-0.
Pitching was the theme throughout the majors Tuesday, with shutouts in seven of the 13 games played - the most in a single day in 34 years.
The Red Sox and Royals also blanked their American League opponents, and the National League's Reds, Diamondbacks, Cardinals and Brewers all were shutout winners.
The Indians, Mariners and Angels, plus the Pirates and Padres, also were winners. Houston at Philadelphia and Atlanta at the New York Mets were rained out.
Boston's David Ortiz returned to the lineup after an eight-day layoff while doctors studied his irregular heartbeat. He went 0-3 and struck out twice, but the Red Sox' hero for Tuesday was rookie pitcher Kason Gabbard, who tamed the Chicago White Sox, 1-0, for his first major-league victory.
The Kansas City Royals' Jorge De La Rosa and Todd Wellemeyer combined their pitching efforts in an 8-0 shutout of the New York Yankees, whose ace Mike Mussina was hit hard in his first game back after a groin injury.
In Canada, a grand-slam home run by Andy Marte lifted the Cleveland Indians to a 7-2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. The Seattle Mariners beat the Tigers in Detroit, 4-3, thanks to three and two-thirds innings of perfect relief pitching by Joel Pineiro. And the Los Angeles Angels' Adam Kennedy clubbed a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning to put down the Baltimore Orioles, 5-2.
The Cincinnati Reds' bid to stay in the National League wild-card race got a big boost from Bronson Arroyo, who pitched a complete game against the San Francisco Giants, allowing only three hits for his first major-league shutout. The final was 3-0.
Here in Washington, the St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols hit another home run - his fifth in three days, and the 44th overall in his injury-marred season - and Jeff Suppan pitched into the eighth inning in a 2-0 win over the Nationals.
The Milwaukee Brewers' Doug Davis threw a four-hitter at the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were 9-0 losers. Milwaukee's Corey Hart drove in six runs, a career high.
The Pittsburgh Pirates moved out of last place with a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs, who now hold the bottom rung in the National League central division. The winning run scored on a wild pitch in the ninth inning.
The San Diego Padres pulled to within one game of the Dodgers, west division leaders, with a 5-4 win at home against the Colorado Rockies.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.