Scherzer Ejected After Umpire Inspection

The Mets’ ace, who was removed in the fourth inning of New York’s victory, could face a suspension.

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 majority of the discussion. Scherzer argued his case, telling the umpires repeatedly that he was only using rosin to hold the baseball as Mets manager Buck Showalter stood next to him.

Then Cuzzi sent Scherzer to the stands, leaving the Mets in a pitching bind that might last well past their 5-3 victory over the Dodgers in the series finale due to a looming potential suspension.

For a standard sticky substances check, which has been a part of MLB protocol since 2021, Scherzer first met with Bellino in the middle of the second inning. Both parties agree that Cuzzi informed Scherzer that he would be checked again before he went back to the mound for the third because his hand was too sticky.

So Scherzer entered the visitors’ clubhouse at Dodger Stadium and washed his hands in alcohol in front of an MLB representative. But when Scherzer returned for the third inning, Cuzzi said, his glove “was sticky” with a foreign substance, which According to Scherzer, rosin is the only substance that is acceptable for a pitcher to use, provided that it is applied to his hands and not his glove or uniform. Before retiring the team in order, Scherzer changed his glove after Cuzzi asked him to.

Cuzzi once more stopped Scherzer as he came back for the bottom of the fourth, which led to Scherzer arguing his case in an animated manner. After about a minute, Cuzzi kicked him out for using an illegal foreign substance. Scherzer continued to protest, but Showalter eventually led him away from the altercation.

“[Cuzzi] said my hand’s too sticky,” Scherzer said. “I swore, “I’m not using anything else,” with the lives of my children in the balance. Rosin and sweat, that’s what this is.’ I keep repeating it, and when they touch my hand, they comment that it is sticky. Yes, it is because it contains rosin and sweat. It’s too sticky, they say. Because of that, they kicked me out.”

“Both Phil and I touched his hand,” Via a pool reporter, Bellino said. “Since I’ve been checking hands, which has been going back three seasons, this was the stickiest it has ever been in terms of level of stickiness. In comparison to the first inning, it was much more sticky, to the point where our fingers stuck to his when we touched him. And whatever was on there continued to stick to our fingers for a few innings afterward, giving the impression that something was still there.”

Due to Scherzer’s abrupt exit, Jimmy Yacabonis, who came in as a relief pitcher and was given unlimited time to warm up before the game, allowed no runs over three innings while making his comeback from a minor back injury. From the Mets’ dugout, the crowd cheered when Brandon Nimmo hit a go-ahead, two-run home run off former teammate Noah Syndergaard in the fifth inning.

Reference: www.mlb.com