Orioles' Brian Matusz suspended 8 games for having substance on arm
Major League Baseball suspended Baltimore Orioles reliever Brian Matusz eight games without pay for having a foreign substance on his arm during Saturday’s game against the Miami Marlins.
MLB says that Matusz will file an appeal and his discipline will be held in abeyance until the appeal process is complete.
With two outs in the bottom of the 12th inning of the game against the Marlins, Matusz was ejected after Marlins manager Dan Jennings alerted the umpires to something shining on Matusz’s arm.
"We're not going to address the issue right now," Matusz said after the game. "Obviously I have my own personal opinions about the issue, but right now with emotions running high, we're going to let this settle and address questions at a later time."
Crew chief Paul Emmel said he was made aware of the substance and was asked if he wanted to check Matusz’s arm.
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"And so I went out there and told the pitcher I was going to touch his right forearm, because that's where he was touching before he went to the ball, and yes, I detected a foreign substance. So the pitcher was ejected and we went from there," Emmel said.
Matusz is the second MLB pitcher in the last week to be ejected for having a forbidden substance on his arm.
Milwaukee Brewers reliever Will Smith was ejected from a game against the Atlanta Braves last Thursday. Smith is appealing his eight-game suspension.
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