Brian Kenny Accuses Joe Musgrove of Cheating

A lot has been made of Joe Musgrove's performance against the New York Mets from Sunday night. MLB Network's Brian Kenny just straight up accused the San Diego Padres ace of cheating.

Musgrove was dominant on Sunday, allowing only one hit and one walk in seven innings while striking out five as the Padres eliminated New York. At one point, Mets manager Buck Showalter had umpires check Musgrove for using sticky substances, a test the right-hander passed. Kenny isn't convinced.

On Monday, Kenny hit the air and flat-out accused Musgrove of cheating in several segments. One is below:

Aside from the fact that Kenny's spin rate analysis is terrible (more on that later), the umpires checked Musgrove. They know what they're looking for and crew chief Alfonso Marquez told reporters after the game that they found nothing.

Kenny was on with Chris "Mad Dog" Russo later and flat out said he thought Musgrove cheated:

Now here's where I tell you Musgrove's spin rate increase wasn't out of the ordinary at all:

Everyone's spin rates increase during the postseason because everyone's velocity increases. Why? Because of adrenaline, being pumped up, etc. Whatever you want to call it, guys are more amped for postseason appearances. More velocity will mean more spin.

Eno Sarris explained it well for The Athletic and also on Twitter:

It's also worth noting, Musgrove's spin rates actually increased after the inspection:

There's really no true evidence Musgrove cheated, so Kenny making that claim is pretty ridiculous. His hands were checked repeatedly while coming off the mound, then in the sixth inning umpires did a thorough check of his hands, glove, hat and ears. They didn't find anything. Not sure what else Kenny wants.