Musgrove exits Game 2 start with elbow injury
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SAN DIEGO -- Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove made a premature exit from his start in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series on Wednesday because of right elbow tightness.
Musgrove -- who had worked 3 2/3 innings of one-hit, one-run ball against Atlanta during the Padres' series-clinching 5-4 victory at Petco Park -- threw two curveballs that were markedly slower than his usual offering. That prompted Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka to pay Musgrove a mound visit. Manager Mike Shildt and team trainer Ben Fraser followed.
Musgrove had two stints on the injured list during the regular season -- both related to inflammation in his right elbow.
Since Musgrove’s return on Aug. 12, he has been arguably the Padres’ best pitcher, posting a 2.15 ERA in nine starts. Nothing seemed out-of-the-ordinary on Wednesday, until his two fourth-inning curveballs to Matt Olson checked in at 75.2 mph and 74.9 mph -- the two slowest curveballs Statcast has ever tracked from Musgrove.
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Musgrove exited with San Diego leading, 5-1, and was replaced by right-hander Bryan Hoeing. San Diego would hang on for a 5-4 win and a date with the rival Dodgers in the NLDS. If Musgrove were to miss further time, the Padres have options (albeit not up to the level of Musgrove’s recent dominance). Yu Darvish was left out of the Wild Card Series rotation, and Martín Pérez was left off the roster entirely.