Centeno collecting RBIs; Santiago works around walks

CHICAGO — Three extras from the Twins' 58th win of the season:

Juan Centeno batted behind Byron Buxton for the first time on Saturday, and made an encouraging discovery: It's really easy to drive the rookie in. Just get a hit, and if Buxton is on base, any base, he's likely to score.

Centeno doubled twice, and Buxton streaked home both times, giving Centeno 25 RBIs on the season. It also marked the fourth consecutive start in which Centeno has contributed a run-scoring hit.

"He's done a nice job in his role overall. He's improved in his catching, and he knows how to battle" at the plate, Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He's had limited big-league time, but this year has helped him understand what he is. "

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Hector Santiago may walk more batters than most pitchers (and managers) would like, but there's a distinct pattern about how it happens. Santiago, not blessed with an especially fast fastball, is simply unwilling to allow his opponent's best hitters to beat him, if at all possible. Of his 79 walks this season, 12 have come against the cleanup hitter, another 12 have come against the No. 2 hitter, and 11 have come against the third hitter — no other batting-order position is in double digits.

On Saturday, Santiago walked Jose Abreu twice, because he fell behind and decided he would rather start over against the fourth hitter, Melky Cabrera, than give Abreu something to hit.

That habit used to bug Molitor. He's gotten used to it now.

"It's kind of what he does," Molitor said. "He's learned how to dance around [those walks] for the most part."

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The Twins went errorless for a third straight game on Saturday, though they haven't exactly been flawless in the field during that span. Still, it's an accomplishment for a team that committed more errors this season than in any year since 1980 — a number that clearly galls Molitor.