It was a strange scene at Citi Field on Sunday night—not because the Mets were historically neutralized at the plate in a season-ending shutout loss against the Padres, but because of the illegal substance check on the way there. San Diego pitcher Joe Musgrove and internet observers didn’t care for Mets manager Buck Showalter’s move in the sixth inning to have Musgrove’s ear checked for illegal substances, and neither did the voice of the Mets.
“I thought that considering the circumstances, 4–0, sixth inning, season on the line, it smacked of desperation, and it was fairly embarrassing, I thought, for Buck to do that in that spot,” Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen said in a postgame analysis. “It was not necessary. As it turned out, Musgrove was not cheating. If you’re going to pull a stunt like that, you better be right. And Buck wasn’t right.”
San Diego was in control of the decisive wild-card game, leading 4–0 in the bottom of the sixth frame, when Showalter pulled an umpire aside and requested that Musgrove be checked for foreign substances. His ear, hat, glove and right hand were all checked. After the game, Musgrove called the move “desperate.”
Musgrove finished the night with five strikeouts and allowed just one hit in seven innings on the Padres’ way to a 6–0 win and a trip to the NLDS.
The Padres open their NLDS at Los Angeles on Tuesday at 9:37 p.m. ET.
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