New York Mets relief pitcher Drew Smith was ejected from Tuesday's Subway Series game against the New York Yankees after umpires discovered a foreign substance on his hand during a pre-inning check. This ejection triggered an automatic 10-game suspension, announced by Major League Baseball on Wednesday.

Smith's ejection follows a pattern of MLB cracking down on the use of sticky substances, with increased scrutiny and enforcement since checks were first implemented in 2021. This incident echoes a similar situation involving Mets ace Max Scherzer earlier this year, who also received a 10-game suspension for a foreign substance violation. Scherzer expressed frustration after Tuesday's game, questioning the consistency of the umpire's checks and defending Smith.

Yankees pitcher Domingo German also faced a 10-game suspension in May for a sticky substance violation, highlighting the league's strict enforcement of the rule. Interestingly, German had a similar incident in April but was allowed to wash his hand and continue pitching. The inconsistency between these incidents has raised questions about the clarity and application of the rules. Umpire James Joye explained the decision to allow German to remain in the April game was due to the substance not being deemed significant enough to impact his pitching.

Smith's suspension leaves the Mets without a key reliever for the next 10 games, and they will be unable to replace him on the active roster during this period. He has posted a 4.18 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 23 ⅔ innings pitched this season.