Hank Blalock hit two homers, then hurried off to the hospital to be with his pregnant wife.

Johan Santana and Erubiel Durazo had big nights, too.

Blalock drove in three runs to lead the Texas Rangers over the visiting Cleveland Indians 5-2 on Wednesday - but he had no time to stick around and chat.

Just a few minutes after the final out, the All-Star third baseman jumped in his car and headed for the hospital to be with his wife, Misty, who was already in labor awaiting the birth of their first child.

"I'm very appreciative that he hung around because he was a big part of this game and a big part of this club," winning pitcher Kenny Rogers said. "That puts things in perspective. That's beyond the call of duty because baseball is a distant second to what he's got going on right now."

What Santana has going is an impressive winning streak. The Minnesota Twins' left-hander took a shutout into the eighth inning and won his fifth straight start, beating the New York Yankees 7-2 at the Metrodome.

"It's great to beat one of the best teams, but we showed and we proved that we can face any team," Santana said.

Durazo hit three homers in Baltimore and drove in all five Oakland runs during a 5-4 victory over the Orioles. That was enough offense to help Mark Mulder became the first 16-game winner in the major leagues.

"I was just trying to stick around long enough for us to score a bunch of runs. And Ruby did that for us," Mulder said. "He did everything today. He was outstanding."

The A's trailed 4-0 before Durazo hit a two-run homer in the fourth and a two-run shot in the sixth. Then he connected off B.J. Ryan (3-3) in the eighth to break the tie and put Mulder (16-4) in position to win.

It was the second three-homer game of Durazo's career, the first coming in 2002 when he played for Arizona. He singled in his first at-bat and finished 4-for-4 to help the first-place A's finish a three-game sweep.

"I just feel real good at the plate and I'm seeing the ball real good," Durazo said.

At Minneapolis, Santana (13-6) knocked down Derek Jeter with a high-and-tight pitch and silenced New York's powerful lineup.

Shannon Stewart and Jacque Jones homered for the Twins, who have outscored the Yankees 15-4 in winning the first two of a three-game series between AL division leaders.

Since the All-Star break, Santana is 6-0 with a 1.82 ERA, perhaps pushing him to the front of the AL Cy Young Award race.

"Look at his numbers," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He'll make anybody say 'Wow!'"

Mike Mussina (9-7) came off the disabled list for New York after missing six weeks with a stiff right elbow. He allowed four runs and five hits in four innings, falling to 20-3 lifetime against Minnesota.

Jeter's career-best hitting streak ended at 17 games.

At Arlington, Texas, Blalock went 3-for-4 with a solo shot in the fourth and a two-run drive in the sixth, ending a 28-game homerless drought dating to July 19.

After the game, he took a quick shower and finished dressing on the way to his car. He didn't want to miss his child's birth, but he also wanted to play in an important game.

"Before the game he was talking about it. He was kind of numb," teammate Michael Young said. "I was surprised he was even here. But he had a great game. He was pretty quiet in the dugout. He had other things to worry about."

Rogers (15-5) allowed two runs and eight hits in six effective innings. Francisco Cordero got three outs for his 37th save in 39 chances, keeping Texas just a half-game behind first-place Oakland in the AL West.

At Boston, Tim Wakefield (9-7) pitched eight strong innings to beat Miguel Batista (9-9) and the Red Sox moved a season-high 15 games over .500 by completing a three-game sweep. Toronto dropped a season-high 23 games under .500 by losing for the 13th time in 15 games.

At St. Petersburg, Fla., Bartolo Colon (12-9) came within one out of a complete game and earned his seventh win in eight starts. Vladimir Guerrero homered and drove in two runs.

At Chicago, Aaron Rowand homered twice - including his first career grand slam - and Jose Contreras (11-5) won his third straight decision for the White Sox.Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen was back at the ballpark after spending a night in a hospital because of a kidney stone. He skipped Wednesday night's game to complete a two-game suspension.

At Kansas City, Mo., John Buck hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth for the Royals. Seattle star Ichiro Suzuki, who leads the majors with a .366 batting average, left the game with a mild concussion in the third after he was hit in the head by a pitch from rookie starter Jimmy Serrano.Ryan Franklin (3-12) retired 15 straight during one stretch but lost his seventh straight decision.