BOSTON -- The Yankees expect that Michael Pineda will have to serve a suspension after the right-hander was ejected from Wednesday's start against the Red Sox at Fenway Park for pitching with pine tar smeared on the right side of his neck.
Official Rule 8.02 states: "The pitcher shall not apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball." Pineda admitted that he applied pine tar to himself before the second inning, saying that he was having trouble gripping the ball on a cold evening and did not want to hit any batters.
"I know I made a mistake," Pineda said. "I feel so sad today. It was a really cold night and in the first inning I [didn't] have a really good grip on the ball."
This time, Farrell spotted the smudge on Pineda's neck quite clearly and brought the issue to the attention of home-plate umpire and crew chief Gerry Davis, interrupting a 1-2 count on Grady Sizemore with two outs in the second inning.
"I could see it from the dugout," Farrell said. "It was confirmed by a number of camera angles in the ballpark. And given the last time we faced him, I felt like it was a necessity to say something."
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