The Mets’ success out West continued on Wednesday in Los Angeles. With Max Scherzer on the hill to start the game, New York ended up winning 5-3, taking two of three from the Dodgers and improving to 5-1 on their current road trip.
However, Scherzer didn’t have much of an opportunity to contribute. He had a rocky first inning but eventually settled down, retiring the last eight hitters he faced in a row. The right-hander was ejected after three scoreless innings because of a foreign substance on his hand.
As you can imagine, he wasn’t happy about it. Here are seven things to know about the situation, including postgame comments from Scherzer himself and manager Buck Showalter.
Comments from Max Scherzer
Just about everyone was waiting for this Dodger Stadium rubber match to finish so we could hear Scherzer’s postgame comments about what happened. Also, since he was having a passionate conversation with the umpires, people wanted to confirm he was tossed for sticky stuff and not arguing.
It was indeed for a foreign substance, which Max is claiming was just MLB-provided rosin and his sweat:
Max Scherzer provides a detailed explanation on today's events, explaining how he feels that he should not have been ejected: pic.twitter.com/MMPDTcguVk
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2023
Coincidentally enough, Max was talking about the impact sweat can have on rosin earlier this week:
"You can make rosin really sticky." @Max_Scherzer told @aj_pierzynskiFT it's TOUGH to tell the difference between rosin and an illegal substance, and explained why these checks need to happen off the field. #FTLive ▶️ https://t.co/aI2ZoMA6RR pic.twitter.com/EkmUXg3s2Y
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) April 19, 2023
Public comment from the umpires
After the case had been pleaded in a public manner from the Mets’ clubhouse, a quote appeared from the umpire room. Here it is from Newsday‘s Tim Healey:
More from Bellino (via a pool reporter): "It was so sticky that when we touched his hand, our fingers were sticking to his hand. And whatever was on there remained on our fingers (for a couple innings) … It was far more than we had ever seen before on a pitcher in live action."
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) April 19, 2023
Based on what Max said in the above video, maybe they should’ve taken some time to chat with the MLB official who oversaw Scherzer washing his hands, and reapplying rosin.
No real difference in Scherzer’s spin rate
When there’s a controversy involving the possible usage of sticky stuff, we have the luxury of checking Statcast metrics to see if something is amiss. Based on Scherzer’s spin rates, there was nothing egregious going on.
Looking at Max Scherzer’s average velocity & spin rates on all of his pitches this afternoon, I don’t see anything egregious to where the use of sticky stuff was in play. @Metsmerized #Mets pic.twitter.com/9XL29XIaQ6
— Mathew Brownstein (@MBrownstein89) April 19, 2023
Comments from Buck Showalter
Obviously, Mets beat reporters had to get a reaction from the manager on what went down, right? Here’s Buck’s response to it all:
Buck Showalter provides more information on Max Scherzer's ejection:
"Phil [Cuzzi] is a guy that has been known for that. We'll see." pic.twitter.com/0mpLfezLPe
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2023
Buck Showalter, the king of deflection. That was such a subtle, yet blatant jab, and it was excellent.
Umpire Phil Cuzzi’s ‘sticky stuff’ reputation
Foreign substance inspections have been happening for a while, so it’s not like this is anything new. However, Scherzer’s ejection was just the third that’s ever happened because of it. Can you guess which umpire did the other two foreign substance checks?
Yea, you know who.
Max Scherzer is the 3rd pitcher to get ejected for foreign substance since checks were put in place …
All three have been checks done by Umpire Phil Cuzzi pic.twitter.com/OQaElA7dZW
— Baseball Doesn't Exist (@BaseballDoesnt) April 19, 2023
A potential lingering effect from this ejection
Scherzer getting ejected after just three innings obviously wasn’t fun. It put an unexpected strain on the bullpen, especially since he was finally in a groove after a tough first inning. Now that the game is over, though, there’s something else New York is likely concerned about.
Jayson Stark of The Athletic wrote a story last month about MLB’s plans on being more strict with foreign substance checks. If a pitcher gets ejected for this now, it comes with an automatic 10-game suspension. Scherzer and the Mets will get an opportunity to plead their case during a hearing, though.
Even if it’s deemed the substance was just rosin, SNY’s Andy Martino notes Scherzer having it on his glove could be a rule violation anyway:
the umpires to be a prohibited foreign substance, the use of which may subject a player to ejection and discipline … Moreover, players may not intentionally combine rosin with other substances (e.g., sunscreen) to create additional tackiness.”
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) April 19, 2023
Jimmy Yacabonis is getting a steak dinner
Once Scherzer was sent to the showers, Jimmy Yacabonis was the first reliever out of the Mets’ bullpen. He ultimately earned the win after allowing one run on two hits, one walk, and one strikeout in 2.2 innings.
Max is very appreciative of his fellow hurler picking up the slack and plans on rewarding him accordingly:
"He's going to get a steak dinner for that"
Max Scherzer on Jimmy Yacabonis and the rest of the Mets' bullpen stepping up after his ejection: pic.twitter.com/efJ6YQiVVX
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2023
Yacabonis at first tried deflecting the praise and reward he’s apparently getting, but then he quickly settled into receiving mode:
JImmy Yacabonis reacts to hearing he's getting a steak dinner from Max Scherzer
"He's a great pitcher, whatever he wants to do for me. I'm just happy we got the win, it could be whatever. I don't even want anything to be honest" pic.twitter.com/ENwMF9A36O
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 19, 2023
Maybe they’ll grab a steak somewhere in the Bay area before the road trip is finished.
You can reach Matt Musico at matt.musico@xlmedia.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
