Baseball notes: Cleveland Indians upend Toronto in 19 innings

A franchise-best 14th straight win sure didn’t come easy for the Cleveland Indians.

Carlos Santana homered in the 19th inning off infielder Darwin Barney and the Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays 2-1 on Friday.

“I guess if you’re going to set a record, you might as well do it the hard way,” Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer said.

Cleveland won 13 straight in 1942 and again in 1951.

It’s the longest winning streak since Atlanta won 14 straight in 2013, and the longest by an A.L. team since Oakland won 20 in a row in 2002.

Santana doubled and scored in the third as the surging Indians survived a marathon game and disappointed a sellout crowd that came for a Canada Day matinee that lasted 6 hours and 13 minutes, featured 19 pitchers and saw 34 left on base.

The 19 innings matched the longest game in Blue Jays history. Toronto played 19 against Detroit in August 2014.

Boston banned from internationals

The Boston Red Sox were banned from signing international amateur free agents for one year, a penalty assessed after Major League Baseball concluded the team broke rules on signing bonuses last summer.

MLB concluded the Red Sox and buscones – local trainer/representatives of the players – worked together to evade a $300,000 cap on signing bonuses to five Venezuelan prospects who were 16 at the time: right-hander Cesar Gonzalez, infielders Antonio Pinero and Eduardo Torrealba, and outfielders Albert Guaimaro and Simon Muzziotti.

A person familiar with the investigation said Friday the signing bonuses of those five were pooled with the bonuses of about 10 other players, and more than $300,000 was given to each of the five. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no public comments were authorized.

Boston may not sign international amateur free agents – players under age 23 residing outside the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico – for the signing period that starts Saturday and runs through July 1, 2017. The contracts of the five players were voided, and they were declared free agents. They are allowed to keep their prior signing bonuses.

Clearing the bases

Rain is in the forecast for Sunday night’s game between the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves, which is being held at the ballpark built at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, believed to be the first regular-season baseball game played at an active military installation. … Mets third baseman David Wright says he will not be allowed to start rehabilitation from a neck surgery until mid-September, a timetable that makes it unlikely he will play again this year. … Manager Don Mattingly says newly acquired closer Fernando Rodney will work primarily as a setup man for A.J. Ramos in the Miami Marlins’ bullpen. … The St. Louis Cardinals have placed reliever Kevin Siegrist on the 15-day disabled list with mononucleosis.