PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Frosty, angry exchanges with Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer over allegations of cheating has led the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies to be thrown out of Tuesday's game between the two teams.
Joe Girardi was ejected from Tuesday night's contest with the Nationals at Citizens Bank Park, following the last of many checks by umpires for foreign substances on Scherzer. None of those checks led to evidence that Scherzer was cheating.
Scherzer was checked three times in the first four innings of the game, and his reactions to the continual searches conveyed his annoyance.
In one sequence, Scherzer even took off his hat and unbuckled his belt while on the mound.
At that point, Girardi was thrown out of the game.
It comes as MLB umpires are dramatically increasing enforcement of rules that prohibit particular substances from being used to alter a baseball before a pitch. It follows accusations of such cheating against numerous teams and players across the sport.
The Phillies' pitching staff was not immune from being searched, either.