Major League Baseball’s new rule of umpires checking pitchers for foreign substances took effect Monday, and one of the game’s most dominant pitchers was the first to get the treatment.
Jacob deGrom, who’s been dominant all year, struck out two of the three Atlanta Braves batters he faced in the first inning of the New York Mets’ first game of a doubleheader.. As he was walking off the mound and toward the dugout, the baseball and deGrom’s hat were inspected.
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deGrom passed, to the surprise of no one.
The new protocol bans pitchers from using sunscreen and spider tack. They still have the rosin bag, but many pitchers have spoken out against it.
Regardless, deGrom finished with six strikeouts in five innings as his ERA dipped to an impressive 0.50.
