NEW YORK —
All three inspections that led to suspensions involved umpire Phil Cuzzi.
Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, was ejected on Wednesday during the fourth inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. He claimed the stickiness was caused by rosin and sweat and not by a foreign substance.
Cuzzi determined after the second inning that Scherzer’s hand was stickier and darker than normal and ordered Scherzer to wash his hand, which Scherzer said he did with alcohol while a Major League Baseball official watched.
After the third inning, Cuzzi determined the pocket of Scherzer’s glove was “sticky,” likely with too much rosin, and he ordered Scherzer to change gloves. The umpires then checked the 38-year-old right-hander again before the fourth, and believed his hands were even worse than before.
