Mets' Max Scherzer Talks 1st Start After Suspension: 'Now We Can Move Forward'

New York Mets ace Max Scherzer is ready to move on following his return from a 10-game suspension for having a substance on his hand during an April 19 start against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"I was spraying the ball, especially out of the stretch, and that's what you expect coming off a long layoff," the three-time Cy Young winner told reporters after Wednesday's 8-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers. "The No. 1 thing was getting through this start healthy, and we did that. Now we can move forward."

Scherzer was rusty in his first start after the extended layoff. He allowed six runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings as the Mets were swept in a doubleheader by Detroit.

The situation leading to Scherzer's ejection and subsequent suspension became a talking point after his start against the Dodgers.

Umpire Phil Cuzzi initially examined Scherzer's hand and glove after the second inning. The Mets pitcher had to wash off his hands and change gloves before coming out in the third inning.

Going into the bottom of the fourth inning, Scherzer was ejected after a second inspection by Cuzzi and Dan Bellino.

Per SNY's Steve Gelbs, Scherzer was "adamant" the substance on his glove and hand was rosin.

Rosin is a legal substance that Major League Baseball provides during games so pitchers can get a better grip on the ball.

The league did tell teams in a memo distributed in March that rosin "used excessively or otherwise misapplied (i.e., to gloves or other parts of the uniform) … may be determined by the umpires to be a prohibited foreign substance, the use of which may subject a player to ejection and discipline."

Speaking to reporters after the game, Bellino explained the substance "was something likely more than rosin, was so sticky it was all over the palm, up the inside of the fingers."

Bellino also said Scherzer's hand was stickier in the fourth inning than it was when he was told to wash it after the second inning.

Scherzer denied using any illegal substance, saying it was a combination of rosin and sweat: "I said I swear on my kids' life I'm not using anything else. This is sweat and rosin, sweat and rosin. I keep saying it over and over."

Any player ejected from a game for using an illegal substance is subject to an automatic 10-game suspension. MLB announced his discipline on April 20.

Scherzer had the right to an appeal, but he told reporters it would likely be a futile effort because it would have gone through MLB instead of a neutral arbitrator.

The six earned runs allowed were the most by Scherzer in a start since July 8, 2021. The eight-time All-Star has a 5.56 ERA over 22.2 innings in five starts this season.