Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco received a 10-game suspension on Wednesday for violating MLB’s rules against foreign substances, following his ejection from Tuesday’s game against the Oakland Athletics. The suspension, along with an undisclosed fine, was announced by Michael Hill, MLB’s senior vice president of on-field operations, and will take effect Wednesday night unless Blanco decides to appeal.
Blanco was ejected at the start of the fourth inning in the Astros’ 2-1 win over Oakland after umpires detected a foreign substance on his glove. First base umpire Erich Bacchus, who conducted the check, described it as “the stickiest stuff I’ve felt on a glove.”
Third base umpire Laz Diaz issued the ejection after the glove check, before Blanco threw a pitch in the inning. Blanco, the umpires, and Houston manager Joe Espada held a brief discussion on the mound before Blanco was ultimately removed from the game.
Bacchus explained that his initial glove check in the first inning revealed nothing unusual, but he detected the substance during a later check. “I felt something inside the glove,” Bacchus said. “It was the stickiest substance I’ve encountered since we started these checks.”
Following Bacchus’ discovery, the rest of the umpire crew inspected the glove for confirmation. “We all checked to make sure we were in agreement,” Diaz noted. “He had to be ejected because of the foreign substance.”
Blanco, however, denied intentionally using an illegal substance, suggesting through a translator that it was likely rosin on his left arm that might have transferred to his glove due to sweat.
Espada, who joined the umpires at the mound, reported seeing a “white powder” inside the glove. “When I looked, it appeared to be rosin,” Espada said. “You’re not allowed to use rosin on your non-pitching hand, and that’s what it looked like to me—sticky from moisture and sweat.”
Blanco, who allowed four hits and struck out one batter over three scoreless innings on Tuesday, currently holds a 2.09 ERA this season.
