Ronel Blanco of the Astros was ejected from the game due to a foreign object violation and faces a suspension

The Houston Astros may be in for a scandal as starting pitcher Ronel Blanco was ejected because of a foreign substance on his glove.

Here’s how the MLB rulebook defines this situation:

No player is permitted to intentionally damage, deface or discolor the baseball by rubbing it with foreign objects or substances of any kind, including dirt or saliva.Failure to follow this rule will result in expulsion and an automatic 10-game ban.

Blanco now faces a ten-game suspension, at an absolutely terrible time for Houston. They will be without their most consistent pitcher this season as they attempt to return to the playoffs.

Houston will now be missing a starting pitcher. This comes the day after the introduction of a six-man rotation due to the long duration of the game with few breaks.

Now they have to hope that Jose Urqruidy returns from his injury even sooner as they need a new arm for the next ten days.

Blanco had been a surprising but welcome breakout star at this point in the season. He went hitless in his 2024 debut with the Toronto Blue Jays and continues to thrive with a 2.09 ERA after eight appearances this season. He has allowed more than two runs only once this season.

He played against the Oakland Athletics and made it through three innings with just four hits allowed and four strikeouts.

On Crawfish Boxes’ Astros stats page, X took a look at the spin rate on his pitches compared to his season averages.

While his fastball and slider had higher spin rates, his changeup and cutter were lower than usual. The spin rate numbers turn out to be abnormal or suggest the obvious use of a sticky substance, but Laz Diaz had enough evidence to put an end to Blanco’s night.