Fresh off blowing a 10.5 game lead in the NL East, the Mets were faced with a brutal best-of-three wild-card series against the Padres.
With the series tied at one game a piece, Sunday night’s rubber match would decide who makes it through to the NLDS to play the Dodgers.
In the sixth inning on Sunday night with the Padres leading 4–0, Mets manager Buck Showalter requested that the umpires check San Diego pitcher Joe Musgrove behind the ears for foreign substances.