Kansas City Royals (34-34) at Cleveland Indians (34-35), 7:05 p.m. (ET)

Santana Gets His 100th Victory ... Finally

From Elias: Ervin Santana learned that the seventh time is the charm as he finally picked up the 100th victory of his big-league career, leading the Royals to a 7-2 verdict over the Astros. It was Santana's seventh start seeking win number 100, a figure that had been reached by 18 other major-leaguers over the years. (Poor Joey Jay, back in 1966, never did get his 100th win. After earning his 99th win on June 9 of that year with a complete-game 1-0 win for the Reds at Philadelphia, he made nine more starts - one with the Reds, eight with the Braves - and came up empty in his attempt to crash the century club.)

Fantasy Facts - Santana uses his slider

Ervin Santana has thrown his slider 39 percent of the time, highest in the league among pitchers with at least five starts. Batters have hit .174 in at-bats ending in Santana's slider. The Astros have hit .207 in at-bats ending in a slider, seventh worst in the AL.

Fantasy Facts - Santana throwing strikes with fastball

One of the key differences for Ervin Santana this year versus last is he has been controlling his fastball better, throwing it in the strike zone 59 percent of the time, ninth best in the league among pitchers with at least 400 fastballs, and nearly 10 percentage points better than his rate last season.

Santana Suffers Tough Loss Vs. His Favorite Opponent

From Elias: Ervin Santana allowed two runs in seven innings in the Royals' 2-1 loss at Oakland. Despite the loss, Santana owns a 2.05 career earned-run average against the Athletics, the lowest by any active pitcher against any team (minimum 150 innings). Next best: Jake Peavy's 2.27 vs. the Dodgers.

Fantasy Facts - Santana throws strikes

Ervin Santana has thrown a strike on 69 percent of his pitches, fourth best among pitchers who have made at least five starts. The A's are hitting .277 in at-bats ending with a pitch in the strike zone, the seventh-worst rate in the league.

FANTASY FACTS - Santana slides to victory

Ervin Santana faces a Yankees team that hits .193 against the slider. Opponents are hitting .121 against Santana in at-bats ending with a slider with 27 strikeouts, tied for 4th most in MLB.

Fantasy Facts - Santana pounds the zone

Ervin Santana has thrown a pitch in the strike zone 55.2 percent of the time this season, the 11th-highest rate among pitchers who have made at least 5 starts. As a team, the Rays have hit .269 in at-bats ending with a pitch in the strike zone, tied for seventh worst in the league.

Santana's Dominant Start To 2013

From Elias: Ervin Santana pitched seven shutout innings, striking out five without issuing a walk to lead the Royals to a 3-2 triumph over the Indians. In five starts in 2013, Santana has posted a 2.00 earned-run average and a 31-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The only other Kansas City pitcher to compile an ERA below 3.00 while striking out at least six times as many batters as he walked over his first five starts was Dick Drago (1.83 ERA, 16 K, 2 BB) back in 1971.