BOSTON -- New York Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda admitted to using pine tar on the baseball during the second inning of Wednesday's 5-1 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway Park, but said he did it not to cheat, rather to ensure he did not hit anyone with an errant pitch.

"It was a really cold night, and in the first inning I [couldn't] feel the ball," Pineda said. "I don't want to like, hit anybody, so I decided to use it."

Pineda was ejected by plate umpire and crew chief Gerry Davis after Red Sox manager John Farrell came out to complain about the shiny blotch on the right side of Pineda's neck, which was clearly visible to television cameras broadcasting the game.

"I fully respect that on a cold night you're trying to get a grip, but when it's that obvious something has got to be said," Farrell said.

"I think we're all embarrassed," Yankees GM Brian Cashman said. "We as a group are embarrassed that this has taken place. I think Michael is embarrassed. It's just obviously a bad situation, and it clearly forced the opponents' hand to do something that I'm sure they didn't want to do but they had no choice but to do. Obviously we'll deal with the ramifications of that now."

Using a foreign substance on the baseball is a violation of Major League Baseball rule 8.02. According to an MLB spokesman, there is no mandatory suspension for the infraction at the major league level -- minor league baseball imposes an automatic 10-day suspension -- but both Cashman and manager Joe Girardi said they expected Pineda would be suspended.

"He's a young kid," Girardi said of Pineda, 25. "I don't think he's trying to do anything to cheat, I think he's trying to just go out there and compete. He used bad judgment tonight. He'll admit to that."

But it was unclear who, if anyone, on the Yankees side helped Pineda apply the pine tar, or if in fact anyone in their dugout was even aware that he was using it before Farrell went out to protest with Grady Sizemore at bat in the second inning.

"I did it by myself," Pineda said. "Nobody helped me with it."