The New York Mets will be without their closer for a while.
On Sunday night, Edwin Diaz was ejected from New York's rubber-match with the Chicago Cubs after the umpires didn't like what they found on his hand in a sticky substance check in the ninth inning.
Diaz tried pleading his case to the umpiring crew, but to no avail, as he was tossed from the contest with the Mets leading by three runs.
ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball telecast caught a closer look of Diaz's hand, which appears to have a foreign substance around his fingers and palm area.
According to MLB rules, any ejection as a result of a foreign substance check means an automatic 10-game suspension. It was evident that Diaz was thrown out for a sticky substance, so he will miss close to the next two weeks. The Mets will also be forced to play shorthanded because they are not allowed to replace Diaz's roster spot while he is suspended.
Right-handed relief pitcher Drew Smith was forced to enter for Diaz out of the Mets' bullpen. Smith got the first two outs of the inning before allowing a single and getting removed for lefty Jake Diekman. The southpaw was able to lockdown the save and secure a Mets' series victory, but the team will now be without their closer for a while.
Diaz recently returned from the 15-day injured list after a shoulder impingement knocked him out of action for a few weeks. The righty, who missed all of last year due to a torn patellar tendon in his knee, had struggled earlier in the season and lost the closer job. However, he has looked like his old dominant self since coming back on June 13, throwing three shutout appearances while striking out three batters during this span.
The Mets have won 13 of their last 19 games, but they will have to hope that they can keep up their hot play without Diaz in the interim. They're 15-6 in the past three weeks, which is the best record in baseball across this period.
After the game, Diaz told reporters that he didn't do anything in contrast to his normal routine of using rosin, sweat and dirt, which is why his hand appeared the way that it did. According to Diaz, his hand always looks that way when he pitches. Alas, an ejection will still result in an automatic suspension for Diaz.
