This time, one of the Mets’ Triple-A pitchers became the recipient of a sticky-stuff ejection.
Dylan Bundy, a 30-year-old right-hander who previously pitched for the Orioles, Angels and Twins before signing with the Mets in March, was tossed in the third inning of Syracuse’s game against the Norfolk Tides on Wednesday.
After Daz Cameron grounded into a double play to end the frame, Bundy underwent the sticky-stuff check from the umpire crew, with all three — Raul Moreno, Robert Nunez and Dillon Wilson — gathered with Bundy and manager Dick Scott.
At one point during the conversation, Bundy appears to wipe his forehead and show his hand to the umpires, perhaps trying to convey that sweat played a role.
But after inspecting Bundy’s glove and left hand, one umpire made the signal for an ejection, and the right-hander exited the field.
“The umpires, as they do at the end of every inning, check the pitchers — of course, Major League Baseball and minor-league baseball, much more stringent this year cracking down on illegal substances,” one of the broadcasters for the Syracuse-Norfolk game said, according to a clip from SNY. “And apparently the umpires found something that drew a red flag.”
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Bundy, the No. 4 overall pick by the Orioles in 2011, was making his sixth start of the season for the Mets, and he entered with an 0-1 record and 10.64 ERA before allowing two runs in three innings against the Tides on Wednesday.
He signed with the Mets and former Baltimore manager Buck Showalter after starting 29 games for the Twins in 2022, though he acknowledged that he was “way behind” the other players who already had been in Port St. Lucie for at least a month of spring training.
Last month, the Mets dealt with a sticky-stuff ejection and suspension with Max Scherzer at the major-league level, as their co-ace was thrown out from an April start against the Dodgers before the bottom of the fourth inning.
That led to a 10-game suspension and $10,000 fine, and home-plate umpire Dan Bellino told a pool reporter postgame that Scherzer’s hand “was the stickiest it has been since I’ve been inspecting hands” three seasons ago.
Yankees starter Domingo German was also ejected from his start Tuesday against the Blue Jays following a stick-stuff check and later suspended 10 games.
Syracuse trailed, 2-0, at the time of Bundy’s ejection, and Norfolk — the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate — added another run in the sixth inning against reliever Dedniel Núñez.
