Video: Mets' Max Scherzer Ejected vs. Dodgers After Foreign Substance Check on Glove

Max Scherzer's start Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles came to an early end.

The New York Mets pitcher was ejected after just three innings. Steve Gelbs of SNY noted the ejection was "presumably for having a foreign substance on his hand/glove."

Umpires initially forced him to change gloves and then ejected him after a prolonged discussion:

Gelbs reported the right-hander was "adamant to the umpires, shouting constantly: 'It's just rosin.'"

Rosin is a legal substance pitchers use to help them grip the baseball.

Mets manager Buck Showalter and Scherzer's agent, Scott Boras, commented on what happened:

Scherzer allowed one hit and two walks while striking out three, lowering his ERA to 3.72. The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the inning after he was ejected, but the Mets came back with two runs in the fifth and won 5-3.

Scherzer allowed a combined eight earned runs in his first two starts but was coming off his best performance of the season with five scoreless innings against the San Diego Padres on April 10.

In February, Jayson Stark of The Athletic reported the league told teams it would "encourage umpires to refocus on the use of sticky stuff this season." Part of that could include more thorough, aggressive and random inspections of pitchers' gloves, hands and fingers.

Matt Snyder of CBS Sports noted the pitcher checks started in June 2021 but the refocus on the issue came after "a huge decline in spin rate" followed by a steady rise since.

Pitchers who are ejected for using illegal sticky substances are supposed to be issued 10-game suspensions.

Losing their ace would be a difficult setback for the Mets, who are already without Justin Verlander because of injury. They are 12-7 and two games behind the Atlanta Braves in the National League East.