Watch: Mets call for substance check on Padres RHP Joe Musgrove, find nothing
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove was cruising, carrying a no-hitter through five innings on Sunday night when the New York Mets cried foul.
Before Musgrove could throw his first pitch in the sixth inning of Game 3 of the NL Wildcard series, Mets manager Buck Showalter implored umpires to check the Padres' right-hander for illegal substances. Umpires obliged Showalter, thoroughly checking Musgrove's hat, hands, and even his ears, but found nothing.
After the check, Musgrove struck out Tomas Nido before gesturing toward the Mets' dugout.
Some might call the Mets' tactics gamesmanship. Though, calling for a check of the opposing pitcher while trailing 4-0 and being no-hit in an elimination game is not the best look.
Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Andrew McCutchen shared his thoughts on Twitter about the incident. McCutchen tried to explain why Musgrove's ears looked shiny, claiming the pitcher was using Red Hot on his ears.
Meanwhile, Padres beat writer for MLB.com, AJ Cassavell, said Musgrove is simply a "sweaty dude."
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