Not long after arguing with Cleveland Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer about Houston Astros pitchers doctoring baseballs, some have speculated Lance McCullers Jr. had a foreign substance on his cleat in Thursday's start against the New York Yankees.
A screenshot from the YES Network cameras shows what appears to be a brown substance on McCullers's cleat, leading some people to wonder if he violated the rules.
McCullers allowed three runs in 7 innings of work against the Yankees Thursday.
McCullers responded to this story with his own tweet, showing the substance up close. He says in the short video that it is plastic that covers a hole in his "lucky cleats."
Earlier in the week Bauer implied on Twitter that Astros pitchers could be cheating, noticing the increased spin rates on their pitches. McCullers responded that jealousy was not a good look on Bauer, and that his own spin rate on his fastball is "a$$."
Bauer later clarified in a subsequent tweet that he did not think the Astros were cheating.
The Yankees have had their own run-ins with doctored baseballs, as Michael Pineda was suspended in 2014 for having pine tar on his neck.
Email: jongsma@northjersey.com