Mets Ace Max Scherzer Ejected For Sticky Substance After Inspection

Max Scherzer argued with home-plate umpire Dan Bellino and crew chief Phil Cuzzi for more than a minute on Wednesday. He kept his right hand extended for the most of the discussion. Scherzer argued his case, telling the umpires again that he was only using rosin to hold the baseball while Mets manager Buck Showalter stood next to him.

Mets Ace Max Scherzer Ejected For Sticky Substance After Inspection

The Mets were therefore in a pitching jam that would last far longer than their 5-3 victory over the Dodgers in the series finale owing to a looming potential ban after Cuzzi threw Scherzer out of the game.

In the midst of the second inning, Scherzer and Bellino had their first encounter for the standard MLB sticky substances check. Cuzzi reportedly told Scherzer that his hand was too sticky, that he needed to wash it off, and that he would be examined again before going back to the mound for the third during that conversation.

So Scherzer entered the visitors’ clubhouse at Dodger Stadium and cleaned his hands in alcohol in front of an MLB representative. Cuzzi reported that when Scherzer came back for the third inning, his glove “was sticky” with an unknown material. Scherzer insisted that this substance was rosin, the only one permitted for a pitcher to use.

When he came back for the bottom of the fourth, Cuzzi once more halted him, which led to Scherzer disputing his point animatedly. After approximately a minute, Cuzzi sent him out for taking an illegal foreign drug. Scherzer continued to protest, but Showalter eventually led him away from the altercation.

“[Cuzzi] said my hand’s too sticky,” Scherzer said. “I said, ‘I swear on my kids’ lives, I’m not using anything else. This is sweat and rosin, sweat and rosin.’ I keep saying it over and over, and they touch my hand, they say it’s sticky. Yes, it is, because it’s sweat and rosin. They say it’s too sticky. They threw me out because of that.”

The veteran right-hander was replaced in the game by reliever Jimmy Yacabonis.

 

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