Padres' Joe Musgrove understands Mets' decision to call for substance check: 'They're desperate'

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San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove came under fire during Game 3 of the team’s wild-card round against the New York Mets on Sunday night.

Mets manager Buck Showalter called for a substance check in the fifth inning with the team down four runs. Baseball fans on social media appeared to be befuddled by Musgrove’s "shiny" ear during the game and wondered if there was something on his body helping his pitching.

The umpires came out and checked him, even going inside his ear to see if he was hiding any secrets in his crevice. Officials found nothing.

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San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove, #44, throws a pitch during the first inning in game three of the Wild Card series for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field in New York Oct. 9, 2022. (Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports)

"I get it, dude. They’re on their last leg. They’re desperate," Musgrove told ESPN after the game.

Musgrove went seven innings and allowed just one hit. He became the first pitcher in MLB history to go seven or more innings of one-hit ball or less in a winner-take-all game.

He was asked about the substance check after the game.

"I don’t have much to say about it. At the point of the game when it happened, I was so dialed in already. All my pitches felt good. Felt like I was executing, so it was almost just kinda lit a fire under me. They came out and told me Buck wanted to check my face, my glove, my hat. At that point I was so dialed in, so focused on getting outs, it didn’t really affect me so much."

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Joe Musgrove, #44 of the