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Washington’s Kyle Schwarber holds his leg after suffering a hamstring strain on Friday night in Washington. Julio Cortez/Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Kyle Schwarber limped into the Washington Nationals’ dugout on Saturday with a heavy wrap poking out of the right side of his shorts.

Schwarber was in shower shoes and trying to be upbeat when meeting with reporters after being placed on the 10-day injured list because of a right hamstring strain. There is no timetable for his return.

“It’s not the best, but not the worst,” Schwarber said. “Just got to take it for what it is.”

He was among the hottest hitters in the majors, bashing 16 home runs in June, seven of them leading off games. All were critical for the Nationals, who went 19-9 in the month to turn their season around.

Schwarber said he does not need a procedure to repair damage to his hamstring. Instead, he will use compression treatment to reduce swelling. Rest and strengthening exercises will follow.

He has not had a hamstring injury previously. Schwarber tore two ligaments in his left knee in 2016. But a furious recovery pace allowed him to rejoin the Chicago Cubs for the World Series, during which he hit .412 in five games on the way to a title.

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“That worked out,” he said with a laugh.

Schwarber said he heard a pop right before he reached first base in the second inning on Friday night. He hit a line drive into the right-center field gap and thought he could make it to second base. Dodgers center fielder Cody Bellinger cut the ball off, preventing it from rolling to the warning track, and forced Schwarber into an abrupt stop. He immediately reached for his hamstring on the way back to first.

An MRI on Saturday revealed what the team called a “significant” strain.

MARINERS: Pitcher Hector Santiago is expected to have the appeal hearing about his 10-game suspension for using a grip-enhancing foreign substance heard next week during the team’s current homestand.

Seattle Manager Scott Servais said he didn’t know exact date but believed it would be the middle of next week. Seattle begins a three-game series with the New York Yankees on Tuesday.

Santiago became the first player disciplined under Major League Baseball’s crackdown on grip-enhancing foreign substances when he was given a 10-game suspension. The suspension was issued after umpires ejected Santiago on June 26 against the Chicago White Sox.

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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.”

Santiago said following the ejection what the umpires found was a combination of sweat and rosin. He declined to comment Saturday about any of the details surrounding his suspension and appeal. His appeal will be heard by MLB special adviser John McHale Jr.

INDIANS: Cleveland got back one of their key missing pieces Saturday, activating catcher Roberto Pérez from the injured list.

A two-time Gold Glove winner, Pérez has been out since undergoing surgery on his right index finger in May. Pérez initially got hurt when he got crossed up on a pitch from reliever James Karnichak in an April 13 game in Chicago.

Pérez continued to play with the injury, but it wasn’t healing and he needed an operation. He’s batting just .131 in 61 at-bats, but the 32-year-old is invaluable defensively and in handling Cleveland’s staff.

Pérez was active for Saturday night’s game against the Astros and was set to catch Sunday.

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With Pérez coming back, the Indians designated backup catcher René Rivera for assignment. The 37-year-old Rivera did a nice job filling in for Austin Hedges, who will move into his usual role behind Pérez.

ROYALS-ORIOLES TRADE: Kansas City traded infielder Kelvin Gutierrez to Baltimore for cash.

The 26-year-old Gutierrez appeared in 38 games for the Royals this season, hitting .215 with four doubles, two triples, a homer and eight RBIs. He ultimately was caught in a numbers game as the Royals went with a different combination of infielders and Gutierrez was designated for assignment on June 28.

Gutierrez was signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Nationals in 2013, then traded to Kansas City in 2018 in a four-player deal that sent closer Kelvin Herrera to Washington. He made his big league debut the following year, appearing in 20 games, but was limited to four games last season due to injuries.

Orioles third baseman Maikel Franco is day-to-day with a right ankle injury after rolling it Wednesday in Houston. Franco has been doing rehab work and manager Brandon Hyde said recently he could be ready off the bench.

OBIT: Thomas M. Reich, a pioneering baseball agent with an ebullient, oversized personality who helped players gain multimillion dollar salaries in the early years of free agency, died Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He was 82.

Reich had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2019.

Reich went to the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne’s law school, then became a lawyer in Pittsburgh. He started as an agent in 1970 representing pitcher Dock Ellis, who had a $13,000 salary at a time players still were fighting to gain free agency. Early clients included Dave Parker, John Candelaria and Manny Sanguillen of the Pirates. Among his first stars was Joe Morgan, who became a Hall of Famer and remained a lifelong friend.


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