Max Scherzer’s nightmare situation almost occurred in the fourth inning Tuesday night, when a 95.3-mph fastball slipped out of his hand and sailed up and in on Alec Bohm. Using only rosin during his start — the lone grip agent MLB allows pitchers to employ anymore after a clampdown on foreign substances — Scherzer struggled to find his grip.
He licked his fingers. But Scherzer quickly quashed that plan to enhance his grip on the baseball because he was “eating rosin,” and rosin “tastes gross.” So he adjusted, opting to use sweat. But on a cool night in Philadelphia, the only part of his body that was sweaty enough was the hair under his hat, and that’s how the controversy began.