Dave Roberts 'surprised' Showalter asked umps to check out Joe Musgrove for substances

Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts was “surprised” and “a small taken aback” by New York Mets manager Buck Showalter’s ask for to have Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove checked for foreign substances prior to the sixth inning of San Diego’s 6- National League wild-card clinching get in Citi Industry on Sunday night time.

Musgrove was nearing the close of a dominant seven-inning, a single-strike, five-strikeout energy when Showalter requested crew chief Alfonso Marquez to verify the pitcher, who had his glove, hands and sweaty ears extensively rubbed in what appeared like a determined try by Showalter to disrupt Musgrove’s rhythm.

If anything at all, it fired up Musgrove more.

“I think that verify sort of inspired me a small little bit far more and pushed me a tiny bit,” Musgrove claimed in advance of Recreation 3 of the NL Division Collection versus the Dodgers on Friday. “And I believe my spin prices and everything went up even more following the test. It truly fired me up to end off the outing and variety of stick it to them.”

Which is why, if Musgrove is dominating the Dodgers in Game 4 on Saturday night time in Petco Park, there will be no endeavor from the traveling to dugout to rattle him.

“Buck knows no matter if it is gamesmanship or whatsoever it could be — that was a selection he produced,” Roberts claimed. “I’m positive he had his reasons … I really don't know if I would have taken that solution.”

Musgrove explained the chants of “cheater” in New York didn’t hassle him as a lot as remarks by the MLB Network’s Brian Kenny, who pointed to Musgrove’s increased spin level and velocity as indications he may well have been cheating.

“I was pretty offended and harm by him heading on the major platform in baseball, MLB Network, and spewing the issues that he did, especially without proof and proof,” Musgrove said. “That bothered me, but you simply cannot get hooked up to it. As a great deal as it offended me, I’m moving previous it.”

Musgrove appreciated the point that previous gamers-turned-Television set analysts this sort of as Jake Peavy, Mike Lowell and Billy Ripken came to his defense on MLB Community.

Musgrove is an El Cajon native who grew up rooting for the Padres and wears No. 44 in honor of Peavy, the former San Diego ace who was his preferred participant. Peavy will toss out the ceremonial initially pitch just before Saturday night’s match.

“Those are all men that have played the match and been all-around,” Peavy claimed. “I never know how substantially baseball Brian Kenny has played, and I sense like I consider the impression of individuals other fellas a good deal extra than his.”

Taylor returns

Chris Taylor is congratulated by teammates soon after scoring for the Dodgers for the duration of a recreation against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 30.

(Mark J. Terrill / Linked Press)

Dodgers left fielder Chris Taylor, who sat out the ultimate 5 games of the frequent year for the reason that of neck stiffness and did not enjoy in the initially two video games of the NLDS, returned to the lineup for Video game 3.

Taylor, who explained prior to the match that he is “100%,” got a number of at-bats in an intrasquad recreation very last Sunday and took a number of live at-bats on Monday.

Though he hadn’t confronted an opposing pitcher in two months, he did not believe that it would take also very long to get locked in at the plate. Sometimes, as Taylor figured out last October, when he opened the playoffs with a extraordinary walk-off homer in the wild-card activity versus St. Louis, it can acquire one particular swing.

“Last yr was … essentially, the wild-card game, I felt awful,” Taylor reported. “That was just just one of those people matters the place a single swing can form of lock you back again in.”

Taylor went on to hit .351 (13 for 37) with a 1.202 on-foundation-additionally-slugging share, four homers, 4 doubles and 12 RBIs in 11 playoff online games, the Dodgers bowing out in a 6-recreation NL Championship Sequence to Atlanta.

“Obviously, which is enormous for your confidence heading forward when you come up with a major hit like that,” reported Taylor, who struck out in the second inning and grounded out in the fourth inning of Recreation 3. “I’m certain that played a part in me sensation additional at ease and greater mechanically, as well.”

Out-Fox’d

When the Dodgers and Padres arrived at Petco Park on Friday, they identified Fox tv cameras in their dugouts, and they weren’t happy.

The digital camera in the Padres dugout was on the far end. The one particular on the Dodgers’ facet was in a a lot more intrusive place — ideal by the entrance, where by it would have blocked the watch from the bench. Even more, the visitors’ dugout is notably more compact than the household team’s dugout.

Third baseman Manny Machado was between the Padres gamers to complain pregame. Justin Turner, pitching mentor Mark Prior and Roberts were being among the angry Dodgers on the discipline.

The protests were ample to have the cameras eradicated and put in the photographer wells next to the dugouts — exactly where they ordinarily are for online games.

The cameras had been at first placed in the dugouts because officers didn’t want to block the check out of followers, according to a individual with awareness of the problem. It’s some thing the Padres did for the All-Star Recreation at Petco Park in 2016.

But the Dodgers contended that the sights of players and coaches are a lot more significant for a playoff sport, the to start with in San Diego because 2006.

Team author Jorge Castillo contributed to this report.