ARLINGTON, Texas – Hector Santiago had let two of the first four men he faced reach base, and he was up to 18 pitches already, facing a 2-0 count to the Texas Rangers’ hottest hitter, Mitch Moreland.
The left-hander stepped off the mound. He picked up some dirt, rubbed it along it his right forearm, and bore down. The next two pitches he delivered were splendid, sinkers right on the outside corner, one on top of the other, each leaving Moreland no choice but to take them for a called strike.
That didn’t get him out of the jam — Moreland fouled off the next four offerings in a row — but it showed Santiago had settled in.