Mets reliever Drew Smith entered the game in the seventh inning against the Yankees and immediately exited after failing a sticky substance check.
All of the anticipation for the Subway Series between the New York Mets and New York Yankees this week was immediately rewarded in the opener of the clash on Tuesday night. Giancarlo Stanton hammered a dinger in the first inning but was answered immediately by Brandon Nimmo and a barrage of runs from the Mets.
It was a back-and-forth affair as both Luis Severino and Max Scherzer were run off early and the two in-city rivals were locked in a high-scoring clash. With the Yankees up 7-6 going into the top of the seventh inning and their turn to bat, though, the Mets turned to oft-used reliever Drew Smith to work through it.
Instead, he didn't even get a chance to throw a pitch.
As he took the mound in relief, he underwent the standard sticky substance check from the umpires and the blue crew didn't like what they felt. They immediately ejected Smith from the proceedings, much to the dismay of the reliever.
Mets: Drew Smith ejected after sticky substance check before even pitching to Yankees
You have to appreciate Smith turning to his teammates and letting them feel his hands like they would A. Tell him that his hands felt like they were covered in glue or B. Somehow convince the umpires not to eject him because they didn't think his hands were that sticky.
Though there could be a 10-game suspension looming for Smith after this ejection by MLB's letter of the law, there was no harm done to the Mets in the game against the Yankees. John Curtiss took the hill after Smith was tossed and hurled a scoreless, hitless inning.
Given what happened with Scherzer earlier this season — and even Domingo German in the other dugout — you'd think that Mets and Yankees pitchers would be a bit more careful than Smith was with the sticky stuff.
Guess not.
