Joe Musgrove and the San Diego Padres defeated the New York Mets in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series to clinch a berth in the NLDS. However, the main storyline from the game revolved around Musgrove's ears. Mets manager Buck Showalter asked the umpires to check the ears of Musgrove in reference to a shiny substance catching the Mets' attention. But it turns out Showalter had other reasons for making sure the Padres' star pitcher wasn't cheating.

The Athletic's Jayson Stark released Joe Musgrove's spin rate comparison from the regular season compared to Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series… and it is safe to say there is a quite a difference.

As Stark explains in his Twitter post, almost every pitch is up by 100 RPMs or more. Some people took issue to Buck Showalter asking the umpires to check Joe Musgrove's ears, while others felt he was completely justified in his request. But a 100 RPM-plus improvement leaves reason for suspicion.

In the end, the umpires checked Musgrove for foreign substances and found nothing illegal. The Padres' pitcher remained in the game and led San Diego to a series clinching victory.

Buck Showalter explained his Joe Musgrove decision

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Showalter explained the decision to check Musgrove following the game.

“I’m charged with doing what’s best for the New York Mets,” Buck Showalter said. “If it makes me look however it makes me look or whatever, I’m going to do it every time and live with the consequences.”

He also mentioned the fact that the spin rates were up.

Mets' pitchers David Peterson and Seth Lugo's spin rates also saw an increase in the game per Baseball Savant. Adrenaline very well may have played a role in Joe Musgrove and the other pitchers' drastic upticks in spin rate.

Regardless of the reason, the Padres are headed to the NLDS for a matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers.