if the team used the franchise tag

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Rookie Danny Santana had another big game and Kyle Gibson pitched well at home again. On Saturday, that formula added up to an impressive win. Santana drove in five runs, Gibson pitched seven strong innings and the Twins beat the Houston Astros 8-0. Santana, who hit his first major league home run on Friday night, flied out to lead off the first inning. He then got hits in his next four at-bats, raising his batting average to .373. "Dannys a good player. Hes electric," Gibson said. "He puts a lot of pressure on the defence, and being a switch-hitter and being as versatile as he is on defence as well makes for a great player to have up here." Santana is normally an infielder, but he also has played centre field this year. The last two games, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has written Santana into the lineup at designated hitter. It doesnt seem to matter where hes playing, however -- hes valuable wherever the Twins put him. Santana hit a two-run single in the second, helping to chase Astros starter Scott Feldman (3-4). He added a two-run double in the fourth as the Twins broke it open with four runs against reliever Paul Clemens. Santana also had a pair of singles off Jerome Williams and drove in another run in the seventh. Thats four hits off three different pitchers -- not bad for a player with 67 career at-bats in the major leagues. "Hes taking his swings," Gardenhire said. "He doesnt know these pitchers so hes making some adjustments. He sees the breaking ball the first time and then hes ready for it the next time." The Twins have played the last two days without another rookie, slugging right fielder Oswaldo Arcia, who sprained his ankle on Thursday against the Brewers. Hes been available only to pinch-hit, and his absence has been noticed by Gardenhire. "You lose a guy like Arcia out of your lineup and you think, Wheres it going to happen now?" he said. "But somebody else just has to pick up the slack." Gibson (5-5) scattered three hits and three walks while striking out five, allowing only one runner to reach second base. He pushed his home record to 4-1 with a 1.54 ERA this year, but he remains searching for an answer for his road numbers -- 1-4, 7.39. "I dont know what it is. Im just comfortable throwing here," Gibson said. "Im definitely comfortable on the road as well, and I dont think the numbers really get in my head -- Im still making pitches on the road. Maybe just not as many in big situations like I do at home." He was especially effective at keeping the ball on the ground -- he induced 12 ground ball outs, including the last nine batters he retired. Feldman was chased in the second inning as the Twins jumped to a 3-0 lead. After a perfect first, Feldman hit Josh Willingham leading off the second. Trevor Plouffe followed with a grounder that third baseman Matt Dominguez misplayed for an error. A walk to Kurt Suzuki loaded the bases with one out, but Feldman appeared to be on the verge of escaping when he struck out Eduardo Escobar. Shortstop Marwin Gonzalez bobbled Aaron Hicks grounder up the middle and a run scored. Santana hit a two-run single to right to put the Twins ahead 3-0, and Feldman got yanked after walking Brian Dozier to ................ the bases. "Brutal," Feldman said of his outing, which matched the shortest of his career. "I needed a pitch, (but it) just never happened. " "It was one of those days, back-to-back guys struggle to command the strike zone," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "Give Minnesota credit, they took pitch after pitch after pitch and put themselves into some good hitting counts. We didnt help ourselves by allowing them to extend innings." Clemens retired Joe Mauer on a fly ball to end the inning. But Clemens walked five batters in the fourth inning as the Twins scored four more runs. NOTES: The Twins promotional giveaway on Saturday was the "Gardy Gnome," a figurine depicting a gnome-like version of Gardenhire kicking a hat. "I told the promotions people, Whatever you want to do, go ahead," a slightly sheepish Gardenhire said. ... The Astros had won their previous six road games before Saturdays loss. www.cheapjerseys forsale .net . In mens doubles, Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock reached the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Croatian Mate Pavic and Andre Sa of Brazil. cheapjerseysforsale .com) - Willie Cauley-Stein and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 12 points in the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats 70-55 victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide. http://www.cheapjerseysforsale.net/. Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins (3) - Surrendered a tough first goal against on a deflection through the ....... short side. cheapjerseysforsale .net .D. Martinezs ninth-inning sacrifice fly scored Torii Hunter with the winning run and the Detroit Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 4-3 Sunday. www.cheapjerseysforsale.net . -- Nick Bjugstad snapped out of his scoring slump and spoiled Drew MacIntyres first NHL start.NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Saints have placed their franchise tag on Jimmy Graham in order to protect the clubs rights to its star tight end through next season. The move means Graham, barring a holdout, will almost certainly play for New Orleans next season for no less than the tight end franchise tag of $7.04 million. It is also possible, under the NFLs collective bargaining agreement, that Graham could be tagged as a receiver because of how often he lined up split wide from the line. That would carry a tag of $12.3 million. However, since the Saints only placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Graham, according to a report from ESPN, teams can still try to sign the star but the Saints would be able to match any offer or be compensated with two first-round draft picks from the signing team. Once Grahams tag has been determined, the two sides could continue to argue that matter before an arbitrator. That appears to be the likely process as both side aim to determine precisely how much negotiating leverage they have before hammering out a long-term deal. Similarly, the Saints use their franchise tag on quarterback Drew Brees in March 2012, then needed a little more than four months to work out the five-year,, $100 million deal Brees signed shortly before training camp.dddddddddddd Like Brees, Graham is represented by Creative Artists Agency. They do not have the same agent. Graham is represented by Jimmy Sexton and Brees by Tom Condon. The move, confirmed by team spokesman Greg Bensel, was expected as part of what is widely anticipated to be a protracted negotiation between the team and one of the best young tight ends in the NFL Graham has said publicly during the Pro Bowl in February that it would be "unfortunate," if the team used the franchise tag on him, but on Friday he reacted to the move with subtle humour. Afterward, Graham wrote on his Twitter account, "Confirming its officially Franchisefriday... TAG ... I guess Im it." Graham, a former college basketball who played one year of football at Miami, was drafted by the Saints in 2010. Last season, he led the Saints in catches with 86, yards with 1,215 and touchdowns with 16. He has led the Saints in catches in each of the past three seasons, while leading the club in yards receiving and touchdowns in two of the last three seasons. During the past three regular seasons combined, he has 270 catches for 3,507 yards and 36 touchdowns. 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