In the sixth inning of Sunday night’s decisive Game 3 of the National League wild-card series between the Padres and Mets, San Diego pitcher Joe Musgrove was checked for foreign substances at the request of New York manager Buck Showalter.
The move came with the Mets trailing 4–0 and collectively being unable to hit Musgrove all night long. Many around the sport criticized the move by Showalter for thinking Musgrove was cheating his way to a great night on the mound. Others thought it was gamesmanship by Showalter to try to rattle Musgrove and get him off his game in the latter portion of his start.
Whatever the motivations were by Showalter, Musgrove didn’t take kindly to the move taken to ensure he wasn’t doctoring baseballs.
“I get it, dude,” Musgrove said after the game. “They’re on their last leg. They’re desperate.”
Musgrove was right. The Mets, who won 101 regular season games, had blown a 10.5 game NL East lead they held on June 1 only to lose the division title to the Braves in the season’s final days. That robbed them of a first-round playoff bye, which ultimately led to their elimination Sunday. It’s a disappointing end for the Mets, who were one of the best teams in baseball for most of the season.
However, Musgrove’s seven strong innings of one-hit ball ensured that the Mets once again fell short of expectations in the playoffs, which has become the norm for the franchise over the better part of the past two decades.
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