Low & Outside: AL Notes

Fans in Philadelphia probably don't give Sergio Santos a whole lot of thought. But he could become very important to the Phillies later this season.

The flame-throwing righthander - he regularly dials it up to better than 95 m.p.h. - pitched another scoreless inning for the Chicago White Sox on Monday night, the 17th time in 18 games he's done so.

He finished that game with a microscopic 0.52 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 171/3 innings. He has limited hitters to a .161 batting average.

And just 13 months ago he was a failed shortstop who was nearly out of baseball.

But some prescient White Sox officials converted Santos to a reliever and his stunning emergence may make established bullpen mates Bobby Jenks and J.J. Putz available later this summer.

That's why the Phillies have reportedly been scouting the White Sox' bullpen.

And that's why Sergio Santos' continued success may be vitally important to fans in this area before long.

The star witness in a possible perjury case against Roger Clemens testified before a federal grand jury in Washington on Tuesday, a sign the panel could be nearing a decision on whether to indict the seven-time Cy Young Award winner for allegedly lying to Congress.

Brian McNamee, Clemens' former personal trainer, spent more than 21/2 hours inside the courthouse where the grand jury meets. He left without speaking to reporters.

The grand jury has been hearing testimony for at least 16 months as it tries to decide whether a case can be made that Clemens lied under oath in 2008 when he told a Congressional committee that he had never taken steroids or human-growth hormone.

"We don't have any idea where it stands," said Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin. "We're just waiting like everybody else."

A court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., approved a settlement in a wrongful-death lawsuit involving former Yankee Jim Leyritz. Sam Coffey, attorney for the family of the woman killed in the December 2007 crash, said Leyritz's insurance will pay $250,000. The family of Fredia Ann Veitch also will receive $1,000 a month for 100 months.

Leyritz is scheduled to stand trial later this year on a charge of DUI manslaughter. His attorney, John Richards, said Leyritz maintains his innocence.

Baltimore placed righthanded relievers Koji Uehara (right elbow strain) and Alfredo Simon (strained left hamstring) on the 15-day disabled list.