The 2022 season that once contained both excitement and promise came to an end Sunday night, in a bitter 6-0 loss to the San Diego Padres in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series.
The Mets managed only one hit against Joe Musgrove, who dominated New York over seven innings of work. There was concern during the game that Musgrove might have had an illegal substance on his right ear. Mets Manager Buck Showalter even asked the umpires to check the right-hander, but they found nothing unusual. Bottom line is the Mets didn’t do enough offensively to challenge the Padres on Sunday night.
Mets starter Chris Bassitt struggled with his control most of the night. The right-hander walked three and gave up three runs in four innings to take the loss. Austin Nola’s two-run single all but ended the game in the second inning, even if it only gave the Padres a 2-0 lead. It felt like all the air came out of the Mets sails and Citi Field — which was not a sell out on Sunday.
Trent Grishman and Manny Machado would tack on RBI singles in the middle innings, while Juan Soto’s two-run double in the eighth off Edwin Diaz sealed the deal for the Padres as they took a 6-0 advantage.
With the season over, the reaction to the season ending defeat and Musgrove’s “Ear-gate” was all the talk of the town.
