MLB Suspends Mets Ace Max Scherzer For Sticky Substance Use

The mood of New York Mets ace Max Scherzer probably hasn’t changed much over the last 24 hours.

The veteran right-hander blew a gasket when he was ejected from Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers due to the use of an illegal substance on his hand, and on Thursday, Major League Baseball revealed its punishment for Scherzer for the infraction.

MLB suspended the three-time Cy Young Award winner for 10 games and also fined him $10,000, according Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Heyman also reported that Scherzer would appeal the suspension.

Scherzer maintained his innocence when he talked to reporters following Wednesday’s contest, stating that he didn’t use a sticky substance to get a better grip on the ball and that what the umpires felt was a mixture of sweat and rosin. Scherzer also said he complied with the officials when they asked him to wash his hands after the second inning.

Umpire Phil Cuzzi couldn’t identify the exact substance he tossed Scherzer for, but stood by his decision after the game.

“I said this to (Mets manager) Buck (Showalter) and to Max, it really didn’t matter to us what it is. All we know that it was far stickier than anything that we felt certainly today and anything this year,” Cuzzi said, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic.

Scherzer, who is 2-1 on the season with a 3.72 ERA, will now wait and see if his suspension gets reduced on appeal, but having to go through this process certainly isn’t going to lift his spirits.