San Diego Padres reliever Robert Suarez was ejected from his team's game on Wednesday against the Marlins for apparent use of grip-enhancing substance, or "sticky stuff," as the pitcher's aid is commonly known. On Friday, MLB rendered his automatic 10-game suspension for the violation. Suarez is appealing.
The incident occurred as Suarez replaced Robert Wilson for the top of the eighth and underwent the substance check by umpires before he took the mound. After inspection and a brief discussion involving the entire umpiring crew, first base umpire and crew chief Todd Tichenor ejected Suarez. Here's a look:
Instead, Tom Cosgrove worked the eighth inning of what turned out to be a 4-0 win for the Padres.
Post-game, Tichenor and Suarez both addressed reporters:
Foreign-substance checks have been conducted on pitchers since June of 2021, and starting this season umpires ramped up enforcement efforts in keeping with new league directives. Pitchers face an automatic 10-game suspension for the use of banned sticky stuff. This season, multiple pitchers have been suspended, including most notably Max Scherzer, then of the Mets.
For his part, Suarez said post-game that he hasn't yet decided whether he'll appeal the suspension. "I'm just going to explore my options, see what options I have, and go from there," the set-up man said.
This season, the 32-year-old Suarez has pitched to a 4.73 ERA and 1.60 K/BB ratio in 13 1/3 innings for the Padres. That comes after a highly successful 2022 for San Diego in which he put up a 2.27 ERA across 45 relief appearances.
