AROUND THE HORN
■ Yankees, Red Sox: The Yankees’ post-All-Star break opener against the Red Sox on Thursday night was postponed because of positive COVID-19 tests among vaccinated Yankees pitchers Jonathan Loaisiga, Nestor Cortes Jr. and Wandy Peralta. Yankees GM Brian Cashman said three additional tests were pending and he assumed they would come back positive. Cashman said all three were fully vaccinated, as are most of the players on the team. While vaccinations do not prevent a person from contracting COVID, it prevents severe effects. “As of right now, everybody’s OK,” Cashman said. This was the eighth COVIDrelated postponement this season but the first in nearly three months.
■ Mariners: The 10-game suspension for Mariners pitcher Héctor Santiago for violating baseball’s sticky substance rules was upheld by MLB special adviser John McHale Jr. Santiago will start serving the suspension Friday, when the Mariners open their post-All-Star break schedule at the Angels. Santiago was suspended by Michael Hill, the former Marlins GM who’s MLB’s senior VP for on-field operations, on June 30, two days after the 33-year-old lefthander became the first player suspended under MLB’s crackdown on unauthorized sticky substances. Santiago also was fined. McHale heard the appeal on July 8 in Seattle. Santiago’s suspension is with pay. Santiago’s contract calls for a $700,000 salary while in the major leagues and $150,000 while in the minors. Under a crackdown that started June 21, all pitchers are being checked by umpires during games for illicit grip aids and Santiago (1-1, 3.33 ERA) was examined as he exited in the fifth inning. Crew chief Tom Hallion said then that Santiago was ejected for “having a foreign substance that was sticky on the inside palm of his glove.” The pitcher said what the umpires found was a combination of rosin and sweat.
■ Blue Jays: The Blue Jays’ return to their home ballpark is “trending in a very good direction,” Canada’s deputy chief public health officer said. The Blue Jays have played their home games this year in Dunedin, Florida, and Buffalo, New York, because the U.S. Canada border remains closed to nonessential travel. The Blue Jays also played all their home games in Buffalo last year. MLB needs an exemption for games to be played in Canada because not all players and team staff have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The team has applied for an exemption, and the health official, Dr. Howard Njoo, said there has been “a lot of good backand-forth” between the Blue Jays and the government.
■ Extra innings: Chris Sale pitched in a game for the first time since Tommy John surgery in March 2020, throwing three scoreless innings for the FCL Red Sox at the FCL Orioles Orange. The 32-year-old left-hander allowed four hits and struck out five. Sale had surgery on March 30, 2020 . ... The Angels signed veteran OF Adam Eaton on Wednesday. Eaton, 32, was released by the White Sox on Monday. He’s hitting .201 with five HRs and 28 RBIs in 58 games . ... Dick Tidrow, a former pitcher and longtime member of the Giants’ front office, died unexpectedly Saturuday. He was 74. Tidrow pitched parts of 13 seasons for the Indians, the Yankees, Cubs, White Sox and Mets. The 6-foot-4 right-hander had a 100-94 career record with a 3.68 ERA over 620 appearances with 138 starts. Tidrow most recently served as the Giants’ senior adviser to the president of baseball operations. He spent 28 seasons in a half-dozen roles with the Giants after joining the franchise before the 1994 season.