Ober stays hot, Santana homers to help Twins beat Angels 5-3 for 5th straight victory

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Bailey Ober learned Friday that the best medicine is not to allow a hit for as long as possible.

Ober took a no-hitter into the sixth inning while fighting through a stomach bug, Carlos Santana homered and the Minnesota Twins extended their winning streak to five games, beating the Los Angeles Angels 5-3.

Santana drove in two runs, while Byron Buxton, Ryan Jeffers and Willi Castro each had an RBI to help the Twins win the opener of a three-game series and a six-game trip.

Ober (2-1) was charged with two runs on three hits over 7 1/3 innings with eight strikeouts to continue his recent domination after he gave up eight runs on nine hits over 1 1/3 innings of his season debut against Kansas City. In his four starts since, Ober has a 1.47 ERA over 24 1/3 innings, while allowing a combined 11 hits.

“I think you kind of relax a little bit,” Ober said about having an illness that forced him to sharpen his focus. “I feel like you take pressure off yourself to perform just because you know you’re not feeling great out there and you’re not thinking about too much. You’re trying to execute pitches and that’s about it.”

Left-hander Caleb Thielbar got the final out for his first save of the season and the second of his career.

Patrick Sandoval (1-4) gave up four runs (three earned) over 5 2/3 innings for the Angels, who lost for the seventh time in their last eight games. Nolan Schanuel drove in a pair of runs for Los Angeles and Zach Neto had an RBI.

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Twins RHP Chris Paddack (1-1, 5.57 ERA) returns to the mound after a 10-strikeout performance against the White Sox on Monday, his most since June of 2021. Angels RHP Jose Soriano (0-3, 3.43 ERA) will make his fourth career start after not giving up an earned run over six innings Sunday against the Reds.

___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb