- After examining his glove and throwing hand, third-base umpire Vic Carapazza threw out the right-hander, who had entered the game in the ninth inning to help the Mets win.
- Díaz and manager Carlos Mendoza both mentioned that the umpire expressed the opinion that the pitcher’s throwing hand had an excessive amount of rosin, perspiration, and dirt on it.
- Mendoza declared, “The rules are the rules and they made the decision to throw him out.”
- After the game, Carapazza, the crew chief, stated in a pool report that Díaz’s hand “definitely wasn’t rosin and sweat.”
- Carapazza stated, “We’ve checked thousands of these.” “I am familiar with that emotion. This was clingy.
- Díaz expressed his surprise at being ejected, saying he wasn’t sure if he would challenge the punishment.
- “I always use the same thing,” Díaz declared. “To get a grip on the ball, I rub rosin and sweat and stick my hand a little bit into the dirt.”
- He is the third pitcher from the Mets to be ejected in the past year due to this kind of offense.
- In place of Díaz, Drew Smith (who was ejected and given a 10-game suspension for a similar offense last year) received two outs. The Mets, who have won four straight series, then got their third save from Jake Diekman, who struck out pinch-hitter Patrick Wisdom.
- With a 13-6 record in June and a winning streak of 13 games, New York may need to find a temporary closer for the next two weeks. The Mets will host Houston for three games after opening a two-game series against the visiting Yankees on Tuesday.
- Mendoza remarked, “Look, we’ve been through a lot this year.” You know what, we’ll figure out a way to get through it. We’ll keep putting it together, and yes, men will need to step up. And after he’s out, I’m quite sure we’ll have guys here who can see us through to the finish line.
Source:
nbcnews
