The Boston Red Sox and its pitcher Jon Lester denied accusations that the slugger cheated during Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday after a green-tinted substance was seen inside the athlete's glove.

Lester and team management have come to his defense, explaining that he had rosin in his glove.

"From my perspective, if you know Jon Lester, he sweats like a pig and he needs rosin," Red Sox manager John Farrell told reporters the next day before game 2 of the series. "And you know what, he keeps it in his glove. Other guys will keep it on their arm. Other guys will keep it on their pant leg. So that's my response to the allegations."

Speculation surfaced after Lester pitched 7.2 scoreless innings and struck out eight St. Louis Cardinals players, as the Red Sox took game 1 of the series 8-1. Photos initially tweeted and then deleted by Tyler Melling, a minor league pitcher in the Cardinals' farm system, pointed out a green substance in Lester's glove that appeared suspicious to him.

"The rosin bag's back there for a reason and I just so happen to put it in my glove," Lester said, via MLB.com. "This seems to be the best system for me that works. I'm going to continue to do it. That's really it."

The rosin is reportedly used to help Lester keep a firm grip on the ball while he pitches.

Accusations that Lester was cheating by greasing the ball became so rampant that Major League Baseball was also forced to issue a statement on the matter.

"We cannot draw any conclusions from this video. There were no complaints from the Cardinals, and the umpires never detected anything indicating a foreign substance throughout the game," the statement said, according to The Huffington Post.

The Sox lost to the Cardinals in Game 2, 4-2. Game 3 will take place Saturday night at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. It will air at 8:07 p.m. on FOX.