Yankees' Domingo Germán Ejected for Illegal Substance vs. Blue Jays

New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo Germán was ejected from Tuesday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays following a substance check.

The check occurred as German was heading onto the field to pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning. He had been perfect through three innings with two strikeouts.

Earlier this season, New York Mets ace Max Scherzer was suspended 10 games after being ejected for having a foreign substance on his hand, which he argued was just rosin and sweat. Scherzer initially appealed the suspension before accepting it and settling with Major League Baseball, which reportedly reduced his fine from $10,000 to $5,000.

Germán will likely face the same suspension, a huge loss for the Yankees given his excellent form in May (three starts, 1.89 ERA, 14 strikeouts in 19 innings heading into Tuesday's game).

The umpiring crew that ejected Germán, led by crew chief James Hoye, also asked him to remove rosin from his hand during an April 15th game, though he was allowed to continue. Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli took issue with that decision and was ultimately ejected for arguing.

"There tackiness from rosin. ... It was just at a level that caught [Hoye's] attention," Boone told reporters at the time. "I just don't think it reached a level [worthy of ejection]. Every time a pitcher's out there, you always get a little something from the rosin. So basically it was just, 'Wash your hands.'"

The current series between the Yankees and Blue Jays, meanwhile, has had no shortage of controversy after Aaron Judge glanced sideways during an eighth inning plate appearance before blasting a homer.

That prompted speculation that the Yankees had been stealing signs, an accusation Judge didn't appreciate.

"I'm not happy about it, but people can say what they want," he told reporters. "I've still got a game to play, I've got things I've got to do. I told you guys what happened and everybody else can make their own story about it if they want."

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the organization reached out to Major League Baseball to discuss the positioning of the Yankees' base coaches during the game.

"Every team kind of has their guard up on that," he said of sign stealing. "It's easy to look at a runner at second when you're hitting, tough to look into the dugout. Probably a little bit easier to look at a coach. There's boxes on the field for a reason. When it's a glaring 30 feet where you're not in that spot, you kind of put two and two together a little bit."