Mariners' Santiago becomes 1st pitcher ejected after inspection
Seattle Mariners reliever Hector Santiago was ejected from Sunday's game against the Chicago White Sox after umpires pulled him aside for a foreign-substance check at the end of the fifth inning.
Mariners' Hector Santiago is ejected from the game in MLB's first foreign-substance violation since the crackdown. pic.twitter.com/0tbByrr7UO
— White Sox Talk (@NBCSWhiteSox) June 27, 2021
Santiago's glove was also confiscated following the incident.
UH OH!! Looks like we may have our first POSITIVE substance check. Hector Santiago's glove has been put into some sort of bag to be shipped off for inspection. What a time we're living in. pic.twitter.com/ZyDCtJ7Fim
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) June 27, 2021
The left-hander is the first pitcher to be ejected since MLB implemented a crackdown on illegal substances last Monday. Teams were warned that umpires would randomly check hurlers multiple times per game.
Santiago said postgame that he didn't break the rules.
"He said he felt some sticky stuff on the inside of the glove," Santiago said, according to ESPN's Jesse Rogers. "All I used was rosin. I used it on both sides, trying to keep that sweat from dripping down to the hands."
Mariners manager Scott Servais echoed his southpaw's sentiments.
"He had rosin all over himself," Servais said, according to Rogers. "Phil thought he had sticky stuff on his glove ... There is no sticky stuff in the glove."
Players who violate the rules face 10-game suspensions.