Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco suspended 10 games for using foreign substance
Houston Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco has been suspended for 10 games and fined an unspecified amount for a violation of rules governing foreign substances, Major League Baseball announced Wednesday.
Blanco was thrown out of Tuesday's 2-1 victory in 10 innings over the Oakland Athletics at Houston's Minute Maid Park when a sticky substance was discovered in his glove during a standard inspection.
Umpire Erich Bacchus checked Blanco's glove as the pitcher headed out to start the fourth inning and called in the other umpires to confirm his findings.
Blanco, 30, has been among the few bright spots for an Astros team struggling through the season's first quarter. The right-hander is 4-0 with a 2.09 ERA in eight starts.
He no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays on April 1 in his first start of the season.
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Blanco won't appeal, Astros general manager Dana Brown said. The suspension will begin Wednesday night and he could end up missing one start, Brown said.