NEW YORK (AP) — Drew Smith became the second New York Mets pitcher to get ejected this season for using an illegal foreign substance when he was tossed from the Subway Series opener Tuesday night against the Yankees at Citi Field.
The reliever never even threw a pitch. He was checked by umpires as he entered in the top of the seventh inning with the Mets trailing 7-6 and never made it to the mound.
Smith was stopped for a routine check as he reached the infield. Within moments, several umpires and teammates were huddled around the right-hander, and Mets manager Buck Showalter came out of the dugout to join the discussion.
Smith was holding out his pitching hand pleading his case, but was ejected by first base umpire Bill Miller, the crew chief.
Max Scherzer, who started Tuesday night for the Mets, served a 10-game suspension after being ejected April 19 at Dodger Stadium f or having an illegal sticky substance on his hand. Scherzer claimed it was simply a mix of sweat and rosin, nothing illegal.
Smith likely faces a 10-game suspension as well, a significant blow to a thin and shaky Mets bullpen.
New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán was ejected from a May 16 game in Toronto this season for using a foreign substance on the mound and suspended 10 games by MLB the following day.
He was the fourth pitcher suspended since MLB began cracking down on foreign substances in June 2021. In 2021, Seattle’s Hector Santiago and Arizona’s Caleb Smith served suspensions for sticky substances.
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