Musgrove makes himself right at home

SAN DIEGO -- Well, that went exactly the way Joe Musgrove always dreamed it would.

And Musgrove, no doubt, had been dreaming of it for a long, long time.

A childhood Padres fan who attended Grossmont High School in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon, Musgrove made regular trips to Petco Park as a kid. On Saturday night, he made his long-awaited Padres debut on the mound -- and perhaps channeled his inner Jake Peavy, whose No. 44 now adorns his back.

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Musgrove pitched six scoreless innings, struck out eight and allowed just three hits as the Padres cruised to a 7-0 victory over the D-backs at Petco Park. Three games into arguably the most anticipated season in franchise history, the Padres are 3-0 -- for the first time since 1984.

“It's nice to be on the home team now,” said Musgrove, who lowered his career ERA at Petco Park to 1.40 across three starts. “I've never wanted something more than I do now -- to bring a championship to this city.”

That’s why they brought him here, of course. Acquired in a January trade with Pittsburgh, Musgrove was the Padres’ third big-name pitching acquisition in the span of three weeks during the winter. Those three arms -- Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and now Musgrove -- have been on the mound for San Diego’s 3-0 start.

When the Padres landed Darvish and Snell on the same December day, Musgrove recalled feeling somewhat disheartened. He’d heard trade rumors all offseason and figured he’d get dealt. San Diego was his preferred destination. But with Darvish and Snell on board, Musgrove wasn’t sure if the Padres were still interested.

“There was always that piece in the back of my mind that was hoping San Diego would be a possibility,” Musgrove said.

That dream became a reality quickly one January afternoon. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington was on the phone, explaining that, yes, it was actually happening.

“It was overwhelming, man,” Musgrove said. “My phone was just off the hook for the next two, three days.”

Of the Padres’ three major rotation acquisitions, it was Musgrove who shined brightest in his debut. The 28-year-old right-hander was lights out from the start on Saturday night. He struck out two D-backs in each of the first three innings -- and managed to do so while keeping his pitch count in check.

“He set the tone for the entire night,” said Padres manager Jayce Tingler.

Musgrove was sitting on just 78 pitches through six innings when his night came to an end. There was no need to push it -- not in his first start of the season and certainly not with the way the Padres were cruising. Rookie left-hander Ryan Weathers kept the shutout intact with three scoreless frames to record the Padres’ first three-inning save since 2006.

The Padres didn’t need much offense, but they poured it on anyway. Manny Machado went 3-for-4 and hit his first home run of the season. Wil Myers doubled twice and drove in three runs, and Ha-Seong Kim notched the first two hits of his career.

Three games into the season, the Padres already look like a well-oiled machine, getting contributions from everywhere on their 26-man roster.

In a way, that is what’s most exciting to Musgrove. He would’ve been thrilled to pitch for the Padres, no matter what. But doing so on this particular team makes it even more special.

“You knew it was just a matter of time before San Diego was able to make all the right moves, have it line up to where we can put this many quality players together at the same time,” Musgrove said. “I just feel extremely fortunate to be on this team at that time. Growing up in San Diego -- everyone's waited for a team like this for so long. The baseball fan in me thinks it's extremely cool that now I get to actually be a part.”