Santiago gives rotation much-needed boost

SEATTLE — Angels starter Hector Santiago had already made two slick plays in Sunday’s eventual 3-0 victory at Safeco Field, stabbing at a hard grounder from Nelson Cruz and converting an acrobatic sliding play on a dribbler from Ketel Marte. But when Shawn O’Malley pushed a bunt down the first-base line to start the sixth, Santiago attempted another slide and watched the ball bounce off his glove, giving the Mariners a baserunner.

It wasn’t until he retreated to the dugout that Santiago realized he had surrendered his first hit.

“Damn it, O’Malley,” Santiago playfully recalled thinking. “You’re my ex-teammate. Come on, bro. What are you doing? Swing the bat.”

Every other Mariners hitter swung the bat against Santiago, but that didn’t accomplish much, either.

Coming off back-to-back-to-back starts in which his velocity dwindled and the results wavered, Santiago provided the best outing by an Angels starter all season. He pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing only two hits, walking one batter, plunking a couple of others and striking out five in the Angels’ uplifting sweep of the first-place Mariners.

Santiago got back to throwing his fastball consistently in the mid-90s, located his changeup down in the zone, mixed in some screwballs that he called “sick” and, as Angels catcher Geovany Soto said, “had that nice balance going.”

“When he’s on his game, that’s what you’re going to get — he’s going to come after …

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