D-Backs' Caleb Smith has glove confiscated during substance check
Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Caleb Smith saw his glove confiscated during a substance check Wednesday.
Umpires appeared to find some kind of substance while checking Smith after he completed the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies. The glove was turned over to league officials, according to Zach Buchanan of The Athletic.
Bad news....Caleb Smith got caught CHEATING... Allegedly pic.twitter.com/0toTw5Y2Pt
— Baseball Doesn't Exist (@BaseballDoesnt) August 19, 2021
Smith was ejected for the incident, Buchanan adds. He was replaced by Tyler Clippard in the ninth inning.
Neither Smith nor manager Torey Lovullo seem to agree with the decision.
Torey Lovullo: "I believe my player. I stand by my player" He said Caleb Smith's hand was "bone dry."
— Zach Buchanan (@ZHBuchanan) August 19, 2021
Smith, 30, owns a 5.12 ERA with 108 strikeouts across 95 innings this season.
Major League Baseball began enforcing rules prohibiting foreign substances earlier this season. Any pitcher caught using such substances by umpires faces an automatic ejection and 10-game suspension.
Since the new rules came into effect, only one pitcher - Seattle Mariners left-hander Hector Santiago - has been caught and suspended.