AROUND THE HORN
Mariners: Just sweat and rosin. That is Hector Santiago’s story, and he’s sticking to it. Santiago became the first player to be ejected as part of Major League Baseball’s new foreign substance protocols when he was thrown out of the Mariners’ 3-2 victory over the White Sox on Sunday in Chicago. Santiago was checked by the umpires as he exited in the fifth inning of the first game of the doubleheader. His glove was confiscated, and it was later announced that Santiago had been ejected. The 33-year-old left-hander said after the game that what the umpires found was a combination of rosin and sweat. He had used rosin to stop the sweat from dripping on both his arms on a humid day in Chicago. Major league umpires last week started regular checks of all pitchers for sticky substances used to get a better grip on the balls, but can also increase the spin of the balls and make hitting them more difficult. Taylor Trammell homered twice for the Mariners, who improved to 10-2 in their last 12 games. The White Sox lost AL MVP José Abreu when he was hit on his left knee by a pitch in the sixth. X-rays were negative. The AL Central-leading White Sox have dropped seven of eight.
Pirates: Max Kranick pitched five perfect innings in his major league debut before a 64-minute rain delay forced him from the game, and the Pirates went on to beat the host Cardinals 7-2. In a season in which there have already been a modern-day record seven no-hitters, Kranick (1-0) made a bid for perhaps the most unlikely premiere pitching performance of all-time. The 23-yearold righty, who had never pitched above the High-A levels of the minors until this season, set down all 15 batters he faced against a Cards lineup that included All-Stars Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Yadier Molina. Kranick struck out three and threw only 50 pitches, 36 for strikes. The Pirates led 4-0 when the rain forced a halt, ending the perfect-game bid by the 11th-round pick in the 2016 draft. The Pirates have won have won six of nine following a season-high 10-game skid. The Cards have lost six of seven.
Red Sox: Kiké Hernández and Rafael Devers homered in the first as the Red Sox hammered Gerrit Cole, routing the Yankees 9-2 to complete a second straight sweep of their longtime rivals. J.D. Martinez and Christian Vázquez also homered for the Red Sox, who outscored the Yankees 18-7 in the three-game series at Fenway Park. The Red Sox improved to 6-0 against the Yankees are a season-best 16 games above .500. Eduardo Rodriguez (6-4) was solid in earning his first win in nine starts. He held the Yankees to five hits and struck out eight in six innings. Cole (8-4) allowed six runs on eight hits, including three HRs, in five innings.
Extra innings: Keston Hiura homered, doubled and drove in three runs to back a sharp performance by Eric Lauer, and the NL Central-leading Brewers beat the visiting Rockies 5-0 for a three-game sweep and their fifth consecutive victory. Lauer (2-3) struck out six over six innings of two-hit ball. He retired 13 of his last 14 batters . ... OF Josh Naylor was carted off the field following a collision with teammate Ernie Clement while chasing a popup during the Indians’ 8-2 loss to the host Twins. Indians manager Terry Francona said Naylor had suffered a broken bone, but didn’t say which one . ... OF Bryce Harper sat out the Phillies’ 4-2 road win over Mets, a day after he was hit in the left calf by a pitch from Jacob deGrom.