Mets manager Buck Showalter wasn’t the first one in that fateful wild-card game to inquire about Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove and whether he might be using a sticky substance.
Sources say Mets general manager Billy Eppler messaged a league official about what was going on in Game 3 of the wild-card round after receiving several messages to his phone. Eppler made his contact earlier in the game, before Showalter approached the umpire, but a team source suggested it was more inquiry than complaint at that point.
Musgrove’s spin rates were up, and one Met in the game opined that a certain pitch to Daniel Vogelbach was “the best pitch I’ve ever seen.” Showalter asked the umpires to check him for a banned substance before his first pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning and the Mets trailing 4-0. Musgrove was found to be clean after social media went nuts over his ears looking extra shiny and moist through the early innings
A team source added that Musgrove’s spin rates — which were already high — continued to increase after the check uncovered nothing, only adding to the Mets’ suspicions. The Mets were both amazed and alarmed at Musgrove’s breaking stuff. Keith Hernandez called the righty’s breaking balls that night, “the best I’ve seen since [the Astros’] JR Richard.”
The Padres went on to win the game 6-0 at Citi Field and eliminate the Mets from the playoffs. Musgrove allowed just one hit over seven innings.
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