Arrr! Astros' Blanco be wieldin' the stickiest stuff seen since the crackdown, says the umpire! Raise the Jolly Roger!
2024-05-15
Arrr, the first-base umpire Erich Bacchus be chattin' about the strange feelin' he had on Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco's glove afore the lad be walkin' the plank for some foreign substance. Methinks there be some funny business afoot on the diamond! Aye, shiver me timbers!
Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco, who threw a no-hitter earlier this season, was tossed from his game against the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night after a foreign substance check. First-base umpire Erich Bacchus talked about what he felt inside of Blanco’s glove that led to the ejection. "I felt something inside the glove," Bacchus said. "It was the stickiest stuff I’ve felt on a glove since we’ve been doing this for a few years now."Third-base umpire Laz Diaz was the one who tossed Blanco after the rest of the umpires conferred. They, along with Blanco and Astros manager Joe Espada, discussed the issue before the righty was tossed. Blanco’s glove was also confiscated. Blanco, through a translator, denied using an illegal substance. "Just probably rosin I put on my left arm," he added. "Maybe because of the sweat it got into the glove and that’s maybe what they found."He allowed four hits and struck out one batter before he was ejected. The Astros won the game 2-1 behind Victor Caratini’s RBI single in the 10th inning. Major League Baseball cracked down on foreign substances in 2021 when pitchers were too dominant with the sticky stuff. Blanco has been a diamond in the rough for the Astros this season. Tuesday marked just his 15th start, and 32nd appearance, in the majors. But he tossed a no-hitter in his first start of the season earlier this year and owns a dominant 2.08 ERA. He is now the sixth pitcher to be ejected for a foreign substance since the crackdown. He will likely be hit with a 10-game suspension.Fox News’ Ryan Morik contributed to this report.Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.