Edwin Diaz wouldn’t change a thing.
The Mets closer was ejected from the team’s 5-2 win over the Cubs on Sunday night at Wrigley Field in Chicago after umpires tested his hands for a sticky substance.
Diaz came on to the mound in the ninth inning to try to close out the game, but ended up not pitching.
He claimed after the match that the sticky feeling on his hands was simply from sweat and rosin, and that they were not stickier than usual.
“I think it’s the same [stickiness]”They always check me and let me pitch, but it was hotter today than it was earlier in the season and I guess they thought the temperature was too high, so they suspended me,” Diaz said.
“I couldn’t find anything on the gloves, hat or belt so I’m going to stick with the same ones. [the same thing]. ”
Diaz denied using illegal drugs.
“I was really surprised because I didn’t have anything on my hands, gloves or belt,” Diaz said. “They always check my hat and everything, and they thought it was sticky. I said, ‘Check my hands, smell them,’ and they didn’t smell anything, but they threw me out of the game.”
But crew chief Vic Carapazza was convinced it was more than just rosin.
“It certainly wasn’t rosin or sweat,” Carapazza told Pool reporters. “We’ve looked at this thousands of times. We know the feeling. It was very sticky.”
Diaz will now serve an automatic 10-game suspension, which he can appeal.
The Mets also cannot roster a replacement for him during the suspension.
“Yeah, we’ve had a lot going on this year, but we’ll find a way to get through it,” coach Carlos Mendoza said. “We’ll keep working together. The guys have to work harder. I’m pretty confident that after he leaves, we have the guys here that can get us to the finish line.”
