ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals reliever Brett Cecil has denied applying a foreign substance to a ball that stuck to Yadier Molina's chest protector Thursday and defended his catcher after the video of the event went viral -- and raised alarm over its cause.
"I really don't have any explanation for it. I don't use any foreign substance to put on there," Cecil said Friday of the play, which allowed the Chicago Cubs' leadoff hitter to reach base and preceded a game-winning rally. "You guys saw Yadi spinning around and the ball didn't even come off.
"I think if I was throwing with something that sticky, I'd be throwing 45-foot dirtballs the whole game and that's not the case," Cecil added. "I have no idea. I talked to Yadi. He has no idea. I can't explain it."
Cecil and Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Friday they had not heard from MLB, which later said it had reviewed the play and there wasn't any rules violation.
"I've seen a lot of guys put stuff other places. I don't have anything showing," Cecil said. "You guys can look at games from the past and there's no certain area that I touch more frequently than others. It's not difficult for me, because I know I don't put anything on the ball, I know Yadi doesn't put anything on his chest protector. It's just one of those things. I don't know."
Cecil said reporters could check his gloves.
"They're not going to find anything if they do," Cecil said.
MLB Rule 3.01 prohibits players from intentionally discoloring or damaging balls with foreign substances, and the penalty is an ejection and 10-game suspension.
But simply having sandpaper, an emery board or some sticky agent on a player's uniform or in his possession is only a violation for the pitcher. Some catchers put pine tar somewhere on their uniforms or gear, often around the shin guards, for use on their fingers to help provide a better grip on the ball.
"I don't know if you could throw something on a ball and make that happen," Matheny said before the Cardinals hosted the Cincinnati Reds. "If you put liquid nails on a ball, I don't know if you could make that happen again. I don't know what in the world really happened there, but there's going to be plenty of other ideas. I have nothing to tell you."
Three years ago, New York Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda received an eight-game suspension for putting pine tar on the ball in a game against the Boston Red Sox. The shiny substance could be clearly seen spread on Pineda's neck.
Cecil said he was yelling, "Chest, chest, chest!" to Molina, who couldn't find the ball and never threw to first base after Matt Szczur had struck out. Molina, Cecil said, had no idea what he was referring to. Molina said he had never seen anything like that in a game before.
Cecil did not speak with reporters after Thursday's game. The left-hander said he waited for a time for Matheny to finish up his media briefing, but then was eager to be with his family.
"Had it been a night game and my kids were home sleeping, I might have waited a little bit longer," Cecil said. "Day game, I want to be home with my kids. Especially after a game like that, this is the last place I want to be. I want to clear my head after a game like that."
TV close-ups of Molina's chest protector showed a white, star-shaped smudge low on his chest protector where the ball was stuck a few seconds earlier. Molina took exception when a reporter asked if he puts pine tar or another foreign substance on his gear.
"Do I put anything on my chest protector? No. That's a dumb question," Molina said.
Umpires could have addressed the matter had the Cubs made an issue of it, but that wasn't the case Thursday.
Molina was certain about one thing.
"That play changed everything,'' he said. "If we get that first out, everything changes.''
It allowed Cubs pinch hitter Szczur to reach first base after a swinging third strike to lead off the seventh inning. Molina repeatedly spun around, looking for the ball, and smiled upon seeing where it wound up.
After a walk to Jon Jay, Kyle Schwarber homered to right to give the Cubs a 5-4 lead.
"First time in ... how many, 13 years? I don't know how that happened," Molina said. "I didn't feel anything different than any other ball, so I don't know how that happened."
Cecil, who signed a four-year, $30.5 million contract with the Cardinals last winter, gave up four runs without recording an out and took the loss in his second game with the team.
Matheny also said, repeatedly, that he had no idea how the ball stuck to Molina.
"I've never seen that before," Matheny said. "I don't know what happened. That's all I can tell you."
The Cubs did not ask umpire Quinn Wolcott to check the ball, didn't seem particularly surprised and assumed that Molina was simply using a sticky substance to get a better grip on the ball, given the blustery conditions.
"It was probably Tuf-Skin, sticky spray, something like that, maybe pine tar," said Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward, who used to play for the Cardinals. "Probably Tuf-Skin. I've never seen that happen. We joked about it the next time I came up to the plate. We had a saying when I was over here: 'Never seen it.'
"It definitely came into effect right there. It was hilarious. Guys that aren't pitchers have stuff on all of the time, on their glove, whatever. It is what it is. Catchers have stuff all the time."
Added Cubs manager Joe Maddon: "I don't know if they've come out with Velcro on the protectors or it's just a fuzzy baseball. It was definitely Velcro-ed to his chest.''
Schwarber, who broke into the major leagues as a catcher, also said foreign substances are commonly used by backstops.
"Catchers like to put pine tar on their shin guards and throw balls to second base and get a good feeling," Schwarber said. "Maybe it rubbed off some and it stuck. You never know. That's a pretty crazy theory. I don't know. I put pine tar on my shin guards. It happens."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.