Santana ranks among top five in AL ERA

CLEVELAND -- Ervin Santana didn't get a victory, of course, in the Royals' 4-3 loss to the Indians on Tuesday night, but by allowing just one run in seven innings, he lowered his ERA to 2.64.

That landed him in fifth place among American League leaders, just ahead of teammate James Shields' 2.72. In June, Santana is 2-0 with a 0.94 ERA, best in the Majors for the month among qualifying starters.

"We're getting better each time we take the mound. More patience and more control and that's a good thing for me," Santana said.

Santana also has made seven straight starts of seven or more innings and he's never gone fewer than six innings in any of his 14 starts.