'Typical Joe': Musgrove holds Bucs off the board in return from IL

SAN DIEGO -- Joe Musgrove showed no rust against the team from the Steel City.

San Diego’s favorite son returned from the injured list and pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings Monday night in the Padres’ 2-1 victory over Pittsburgh at Petco Park. Musgrove allowed only two hits and one walk while throwing 63 pitches.

“He was fantastic,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “... Everything looked good. I loved his tempo. Typical Joe, he was attacking guys. He made quality pitches. Good for him, and good for us to have Joe back.”

The right-hander, who struck out just one Pirates batter, missed more than 10 weeks because of inflammation and triceps tendinitis caused by a bone spur in his pitching elbow. He received a PRP injection and refrained from throwing for a month.

Once he got back on a mound during his ramp-up, Musgrove pulled double duty. He not only was rehabbing the elbow, but he was tweaking his delivery. The intent was to ease the burden on his elbow in the hope of avoiding a third trip to the IL this season.

To overly simplify Musgrove’s changes, he’s keeping the front shoulder closed longer to create a smoother delivery and a less violent finish.

“Really, just moving the body better,” Musgrove said. “Using the whole body to throw the ball. I felt like a lot of the stress on my elbow was from not really loading into the lower half well and not continuing my rotation through release.”

The Padres, of course, did some work of their own on the field while Musgrove rehabbed. They ascended to the top of the NL Wild Card race. The Padres are hoping a healthy Musgrove can deliver quality starts down the stretch and into October.

“It’s amazing to have him back,” second baseman Xander Bogaerts said. “Having his presence on the mound goes a long way.”

Musgrove has 10 postseason games under his belt, including three starts for the Padres in 2022. He notably tossed seven scoreless innings of one-hit ball on the road in the decisive Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Mets.

Musgrove was a horse in the rotation then, earning a five-year, $100 million contract extension. Injuries in the two seasons since have limited him to short stretches of his top form, but Monday marked a first step back in that direction.

“If my pitch count stays efficient, I could possibly get into the sixth [inning] in the next one,” Musgrove said. “I’m still being cautious in building myself back up. I want this to be a proper progression of using my stuff properly, making sure the delivery’s right, making sure my health’s right. We’re not really rushing this thing.”

Of course, the 2024 Padres can give Musgrove the luxury of easing his way back. The bullpen, bolstered by Trade Deadline additions, is deep and talented. Starters Dylan Cease, Michael King and Matt Waldron have established themselves as reliable innings eaters, even if the latter two are in uncharted territory with their workloads.

That deep bullpen covered the final 4 2/3 innings after Musgrove reached his pitch limit on Monday. The Padres, meanwhile, were stymied for the first six innings by the Pirates’ spot starter, Jake Woodford. They finally broke a scoreless tie on Bogaerts’ RBI single in the seventh inning.

The teams traded runs late, and the Pirates put the potential tying run on base against closer Robert Suarez. Their best hitter, Bryan Reynolds, ripped a liner to right-center field, but center fielder Jackson Merrill got an exceptional jump and made a shoestring catch to end the game.

The Padres improved to 17-3 in their past 20 games and kept pace with the D-backs as the Wild Card co-leaders.

“It took a long time for me to come to grips with the fact we needed to give [recovery] the time that we did,” Musgrove said. “The fact that these guys played so well made that a little bit easier, allowed me the time to really get it right.”