MINNEAPOLIS -- Rookie Danny Santana had another big game and Kyle Gibson pitched well at home again. Gerardo Parra Nationals Jersey . 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 load 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. Carter Kieboom Nationals Jersey . -- Canada played to expectation up until halftime. Adam Eaton Jersey . The Toronto Maple Leafs were holding a news conference, so they got curious. It didnt take long for them to find out via social media that coach Randy Carlyle was coming back — with a two-year extension — and assistants Greg Cronin, Scott Gordon and Dave Farrish were being let go. https://www.cheapnationals.com/1537r-jonny-venters-jersey-nationals.html . THE THUNDER & PACERS BENCHES: In a nutshell, not impressive at all.DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche downplayed their dominance over the defending Stanley Cup champions this season. No sense giving the Chicago Blackhawks any sort of bulletin board material, just in case the two teams meet again in the post-season. Semyon Varlamov stopped 37 shots for his 100th NHL win, helping the Avalanche beat the Blackhawks 3-2 on Wednesday night to take four of five in the season series. "I dont want to talk about sending messages," Varlamov said. "We are focusing on what we are doing and on the playoffs." Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville wasnt reading too much into the Avalanches advantage, either. After all, the Avs only outscored Chicago 17-14. "There are going to be certain teams your record isnt going to be as good as you like," Quenneville said. "It looks like its a landslide against you, but every game has been different. Every game has been close." Thats because these two squads are almost mirror images. Theyre fast, young and have quality goaltending. Chicago has been that way for years. The Avalanche are just coming of age under first-year coach Patrick Roy. He doesnt mind the comparisons to Chicago, but thinks it might be a little premature because of "what theyve been able to accomplish. But we certainly look up to them." Brad Malone scored his first goal of the season, Matt Duchene extended his points to a career-high nine games with a goal and an assist, and Ryan OReilly scored what turned out to be the game-winner on a two-man advantage as the Avalanche jumped over the Blackhawks in the Central Division standings and into second place. "We are happy to be in second place, but thats not our goal," Duchene said. "We want to keep pushing and climb as high as we can." Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad scored for Chicago. Antti Raanta made 26 saves filling in for Corey Crawford. It was the first time Raanta has been in net since Jan. 28. Varlamov became the fourth Russian-born goaltender to record 100 wins, joining Evgeni Nabokov (347), Nikolai Khabibulin (333) and Ilya Bryzgalov (213). This also was Varlamovs 33rd win, second-most in the league behind Pittsburghs Marc-Andre Fleury (34). The Avalanche had a 5-on-3 opportunity for 1:30 midway through the third period following an interference call on Andrew Shaw and a delay of game by Marcus Kruger after he sent the puck into the seats. Erick Fedde Nationals Jersey. OReilly capitalized when he grabbed a rebound near the net and knocked it in for a 3-1 advantage. Chicago pulled Raanta with 2:32 remaining and scored seconds later when Saad knocked the puck past Varlamov. The Blackhawks momentarily put Raanta back on the ice, but summoned him to the bench with 1:37 left, leading to a wild finish. Saad sent a backhander just over the net with 25 seconds left and lined a shot into the chest of Varlamov with 4.9 seconds remaining. After that save, the crowd began chanting "Varly! Varly!" "Varly has been playing outstanding for us," Roy said. "He gives us a chance to win every night." Duchene staked Colorado to a 2-0 lead 19 seconds into the second period when he sent a wrist shot past Raanta. The Blackhawks sliced into the lead at 8:23 when Kane skated down the right side with defenceman Jan Hejda hanging all over him. Kane found just enough separation to lift backhanded shot over the shoulder of Varlamov for his 29th goal of the season. Colorado was without forwards P.A. Parenteau (right knee) and Paul Stastny (back). The team called up Paul Carey and Malone from the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League to add depth. Carey made his NHL debut and Malone instantly contributed as he scored late in the opening period. Cruising along the left boards, Malone sent a low liner at Raanta that went right through his legs. "It was a good shot. It was a surprising shot," Raanta said. "Thats how hockey treats you. You have to let those goals go and just keep going and try to make more saves." NOTES: Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews said of Colorados recent success against his team: "We just need to stop playing into their hands." ... Varlamov had an assist on Malones goal, his third of the season. ... Varlamov was 4-0 in five games (four starts) against Chicago, with a 1.59 goals-against average. ... Varlamov was given the puck to commemorate his 100th win. "It was important that I save the puck," he said. ' ' '