Inside The Phillies

New York Mets Ace Ejected After Foreign Substance Discovered, Faces Suspension

After an animated discussion with umpires about a potential foreign substance, Max Scherzer is ejected from Los Angeles Dodgers game.

Kade Kistner

New York Mets Ace Ejected After Foreign Substance Discovered, Faces Suspension
New York Mets Ace Ejected After Foreign Substance Discovered, Faces Suspension /
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For the first time this season a pitcher has been dinged for allegedly using an illegal substance. New York Mets ace Max Scherzer got into an animated argument with the umpire before being ejected from the matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Scherzer was accused of using an illegal substance, something that MLB has been trying to crack down on since the 2021 MLB season. Aces such as Gerrit Cole, Caleb Smith and Scherzer have all been accused of cheating in the past. 

After the incident, Scherzer claimed it was rosin that was the substance, not the "sticky stuff" that MLB has been trying to eliminate from the game.

Pitchers use substances in order to increase spin rate or RPM on their pitches in order to make them harder to track and hit by opposing batters. 

Enforcement fell off last season and now MLB is back to cracking down on it. The inconsistencies of rule enforcement, especially on these pitching substances, is frustrating for fans and players as it seems it is only enforced at the leisure of the officiating crew. 

If Scherzer is found to have used an illegal foreign substance, he faces an automatic 10 game ban. He would miss at least two starts with that timeline. 

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Kade Kistner
KADE KISTNER

Kade Kistner is the publisher and beat writer for Sports Illustrated's Inside the Phillies. An alumnus of Tulane University, Kade graduated in 2017 with a degree in Latin American Studies and a minor in Spanish. Upon graduation, Kade commissioned into the United States Navy and attended Naval Flight School in Pensacola, Fl. He served as a Naval Aviator and was stationed in Jacksonville, Fl.  During his time in school and the Navy, Kade began covering the MLB and NFL with USA Today, SB Nation, and Sports Illustrated.  Kade covered the New Orleans Saints, Texas Rangers, and numerous other teams within the Sports Illustrated network before launching Inside the Phillies, Inside the Astros, and Inside the Cubs. You can follow him on Twitter at @KadeKistner, or if you have any questions or comments he can be reached via email at kwkistner@gmail.com.

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