ESPN announcer Eduardo Perez suggested that the Los Angeles Dodgers were cheating with their treatment of Walker Buehler’s blister.
Buehler got the start in Game 1 of the Dodgers’ NL Wild Card Series game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday. He lasted just four innings and was lifted after allowing two runs. He had an elevated pitch count at 73 over his four innings.
Buehler was trying to pitch through a blister on his right index finger.
it’s not nothing pic.twitter.com/r4Zezrb9fH
— megan YELI MVP brown (@thatgirlondeck) October 1, 2020
Perez pointed out on the ESPN telecast that a pitcher is not allowed to have anything attached to his hands or wrists.
Eduardo Perez just went full 'Get off my lawn' with the exact rule because Buehler has something for his blister pic.twitter.com/FOfXYPx5fC
— Blake Harris (@BlakeHarrisTBLA) October 1, 2020
Buehler appeared to have a bunch of gunk on his fingers to help him pitch through the blister. Perez seems to believe the Dodgers were circumventing the rules with the way Buehler’s hand looked.
The Dodgers ace has been dealing with the blister all month. He missed two weeks during September due to his blister. Buehler has only pitched four innings in each of his last two starts. In his previous start, he allowed just one hit over four scoreless innings, which likely convinced the Dodgers it was worth having him start Game 1 of the series.
Many pitchers have been accused of using illegal foreign substances, though they don’t often get penalized for it.
