New York Mets ace Max Scherzer was far from a happy camper Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
And it was a check for sticky substances by the umpires that set him off and resulted in an ejection after three innings of work from the three-time Cy Young Award winner.
After getting Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder James Outman to pop out to end the inning, Scherzer was on his way back to the dugout when he got stopped for what have become routine, and pretty quick, checks for banned substances that pitchers might use to get a better grip on the ball. Evidently, the umpires found something on Scherzer's pitching hand even as he vehemently argued his case.
Scherzer wasn't able to sway the umpires no matter how much he pleaded, though, and the usually hot-tempered pitcher blew a little bit of a gasket when he was tossed from the game. You can watch it all unfold here courtesy of video from SNY:
This isn't the first time the 38-year-old Scherzer has had an eventual check for sticky stuff. When Major League Baseball first started checking pitchers for illegal substances between innings in June of 2021, Scherzer, who was pitching for the Washington Nationals at the time, nearly undressed himself to try to show he wasn't hiding anything.
Scherzer only allowed one hit in the three innings he pitched while walking two and striking out three, but he was left to stew over what happened in the clubhouse for the remainder of the game.
