Minneapolis ? Torii Hunter showed his teammates why he’d rather play center field than be the designated hitter.

Playing center field for just the second time in over a week, Hunter threw out Scott Spiezio at the plate to end the seventh inning and preserve Minnesota’s 1-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday.

Hunter, a Gold Glove winner, has been relegated to a designated-hitter role since reaggravating his right hamstring May 4, an injury that originally sent him to the disabled list April 7-24. He went 0-for-4, but made the big play.

“When I go 0-for-4 as a DH, I feel like I didn’t even earn my paycheck,” Hunter said. “But if I go help the team win with my defense, something that I’m known for, then I’ll take an 0-for-4 any day.”

The Mariners had runners on first and second with two outs in the seventh when pinch-hitter Dan Wilson looped a single into center field. As Spiezio rounded third base, Hunter made a throw that reached catcher Henry Blanco on the fly. Blanco moved up a half-step to make sure the ball didn’t skip on the dirt, then lunged back to tag Spiezio on the arm as he tried to slide around Blanco’s glove.

“I was running no matter what,” Spiezio said. “We forced him to make an absolutely perfect throw, and he did.

“I was asking (Twins) third-base coach (Al Newman) if he makes those throws all the time,” Spiezio added. “He said yeah, but they’re usually on one hop.”

Blanco alertly maneuvered himself into position to catch the relay on the fly and apply the tag.

“I didn’t want to get a short hop,” Blanco said. “I didn’t want to drop the ball and let the guy get behind me and score the run. I wanted to make sure I caught the ball and made the tag.”

Johan Santana pitched seven scoreless innings to get the win, recovering from a shaky outing Sunday when he gave up four home runs in Oakland.

Minnesota's Johan Santana delivers against Seattle. Santana pitched seven innings in the Twins' 1-0 victory Thursday in Minneapolis.

“I was able to throw my fastball for strikes today,” Santana said of the difference in his last two games. “When you don’t have command of your fastball, then you’re in trouble.

“We took a different approach today. Last time I threw too many sliders and changeups. Today I threw the fastball early in the game, early in counts.”

Santana (2-0) allowed six hits, walked two and struck out five, and got help from Terry Mulholland, J.C. Romero and Joe Nathan to complete the eight-hitter. Nathan pitched a perfect ninth for his 10th save.

Blue Jays 12, Red Sox 6

Toronto — Orlando Hudson tied a franchise record with five runs scored, and Miguel Batista earned his first win with his new team as Toronto beat Curt Schilling and Boston. Hudson, Toronto’s new leadoff hitter, went 4-for-4 with a walk for the Blue Jays, who have won six straight at SkyDome after starting the season 1-9 at home. Toronto’s Frank Catalanotto went 4-for-5 and tied a career high with four RBIs.

Orioles 1-5, White Sox 0-6

Chicago — Paul Konerko broke out of a 2-for-31 slump with a go-ahead three-run homer and had five RBIs, and Chicago beat Baltimore, 6-5, to gain a split of their doubleheader. In the opener, Daniel Cabrera made an impressive major-league debut, allowing two hits in six strong innings to spark Baltimore’s 1-0 victory.

The second game was delayed 1 hour, 42 minutes by rain in the bottom of the sixth.

White Sox rookie Felix Diaz made his major-league debut in the second game and wasn’t nearly as good. He gave up four homers to the Orioles in 41/3 innings, including three in the fifth.

Yankees 7, Angels 4

New York — Jon Lieber retired his first 11 batters, then gave up four straight hits before getting 11 more outs in a row, leading New York over Anaheim. Ruben Sierra, Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams hit solo homers off John Lackey (3-4), with Williams getting his first three-hit game of the season. Jason Giambi hit a pair of opposite-field RBI singles for the Yankees.

Tigers 3, Athletics 1

Detroit — Mike Maroth won again, pitching eight sharp innings and leading Detroit over Oakland. Maroth (4-1) was 9-21 last season and did not post his fourth victory until July 5. He ended the Athletics’ season-high three-game winning streak, allowing one run and five hits. He walked one and struck out four.

Ugueth Urbina pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save in as many tries. Mark Redman (2-2) pitched a complete game, giving up 12 hits in his first start against his former team.

Devil Rays 6, Rangers 3

St. Petersburg, Fla. — Carl Crawford snapped a sixth-inning tie with an RBI single and had three hits, and Tampa Bay ended its season-high seven-game losing streak. Mark Hendrickson (2-3) allowed three runs and seven hits in six-plus innings as the Devil Rays won for just the third time in 17 games.

Crawford snapped a 3-all tie with his run-scoring single off R.A. Dickey (4-2). Danys Baez recorded the last four outs for his fourth save in four opportunities. Michael Young had a solo homer and an RBI single for the Rangers.