Former Reds pitcher Leake nearly perfect for Mariners

SEATTLE — A week after the worst start of his career, Mike Leake came back with his best.

Shockingly so. Leake took a perfect game into the ninth inning, losing his bid at baseball immortality when rookie Luis Rengifo hit a leadoff single as the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 10-0 Friday night.

“It was fun,” Leake said. “As you get closer, you get the shakes and you have to calm yourself down. Other than that, it’s just a matter of making pitches.”

There were hugs all around the clubhouse after Leake finished off a one-hitter and stopped Seattle’s six-game losing streak.

It was an amazing turnaround from his previous outing — the Angels tagged him for seven runs on eight hits in a walk last Friday while he got just two outs, the only time he’s been pulled from a start without getting through the first inning. Seattle lost that game 13-0 as two Angels pitchers combined for a no-hitter on a day their club wore the jerseys of late teammate Tyler Skaggs.

Yankees’ Boone ‘not real proud’ of rant

Yankees manager Aaron Boone expected to be suspended after his profane rant at a rookie umpire and opted to serve his one-game ban against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night.

Boone aimed a memorable tirade at plate umpire Brennan Miller after his ejection during a doubleheader opener against Tampa Bay on Thursday. MLB executive Joe Torre announced Friday that Boone had been suspended one game and fined, neither of which surprised Boone, who acknowledged making contact with Miller with the bill of his cap.

“I figured I’d be getting a call at some point from Mr. Torre,” he said. “And I did.”

Boone was ejected in the second inning for arguing from the dugout with Miller, who had called a third strike on Brett Gardner. The rant was captured by television microphones, and Boone’s repeated reference to his hitters as “savages” in the batter’s box went viral and was being sold online on T-shirts before the game ended.

Boone added that “some of the foul language, I’m not real proud of.”