Blackburn, Fuentes combine on two-hitter for Twins

Nick Blackburn (8-8) and newly acquired reliever Brian Fuentes combined on a two-hitter Saturday, leading the visiting Minnesota Twins to a 1-0 win over the Seattle Mariners.

"Joe [Mauer] and I had these guys off balance and they just weren't putting good swings on the ball," Blackburn said. "I was getting away with pitches down the middle. They were looking for something else and beating them into the ground."

Denard Span hit an RBI single in the third inning for the AL Central leaders, who won their third consecutive game and began the day with a 3 1/2-game cushion over the Chicago White Sox.

After a walk to Ryan Langerhans in the second, Blackburn (8-8) retired 21 in a row before he walked Chone Figgins with two outs in the ninth. Fuentes was brought in for his Twins debut and struck out Russell Branyan for his 24th save.

Blue Jays 5, Tigers 4

Jose Bautista had a two-run triple and Brandon Morrow (10-6) won his fifth straight decision for host Toronto.

Braves 12, Marlins 3

Tim Hudson (15-5) struck out a career-high 13 and Martin Prado equaled his career best with five RBIs as host Atlanta snapped a four-game losing streak.

Cubs 3, Reds 2

Kosuke Fukudome hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer off Bronson Arroyo (14-8) for visiting Chicago.

Nationals 14, Cardinals 5

Adam Dunn had a homer and five RBIs to lead host Washington.

- AP