Musgrove's struggles shaped him for 'biggest moments of the year'

PHILADELPHIA -- Joe Musgrove cruised through the season’s first 2 1/2 months, recording 12 straight starts with at least six innings and two earned runs allowed or fewer. He was beginning to garner some early Cy Young buzz, and he still hadn’t lost a game into late June.

And then he faced Philadelphia. The first team to rough up Musgrove, the Phillies plated six earned runs against Musgrove, which was as many as he’d allowed in both April and May, respectively.

“At some point,” Musgrove said Thursday during NLCS workout day, “you're not going to be unhittable all season.”

After that start, the tenor of Musgrove’s season began to shift. He struggled. At the same time, his summer grew remarkably busy. He was an All-Star, and he was in the midst of negotiating a five-year contract extension to remain in San Diego.

Through it all, Musgrove insisted he would pull out of his doldrums. But in his next 2 1/2 months, he posted a 4.95 ERA across 14 starts, beginning with that start against Philadelphia through early September.

“It's a challenge he embraced,” said Padres manager Bob Melvin. “'Things aren't going well -- and I can either run from it or face it head on.’ He did that. … Coming out of it, pitching some of his best baseball at the end of the season, it shows you his character, and it puts him in a situation where he's going to feel confident coming into tomorrow.”

Lately, Musgrove has been every bit as good as he was early in the season. Better, even. He finished the year with a 0.41 ERA across his final four starts. He’s pitched both clinchers for the Padres this postseason, allowing just two runs in 13 innings.

On Friday, he gets the ball in Philadelphia for his third postseason start in a pivotal Game 3 with the National League Championship Series tied at a game apiece -- and he wouldn’t have scripted his season any other way.

“I look back at the middle months where I struggled, and if I don't go through those struggles and make the adjustments … I don't think I'm as well-rounded a pitcher now,” Musgrove said. “As much as you like to dominate all year long, those moments of struggle help shape you for the biggest moments of the year.”

Padres weighing catching options for Game 4
On top of his characteristically solid defense, Austin Nola has been one of the Padres’ most impactful offensive performers this postseason, reaching base at a .375 clip while having started every game in the No. 9 spot in the order.

He’s been a hugely valuable presence, setting the table for the top of the San Diego lineup. And now Melvin has a decision to make. Nola has caught more this season than he’s ever caught before. With five games in five days, the Padres’ preference was to give Nola an off-day at some point. The likeliest time for that would seem to be Game 4. (Nola has been the regular catcher for Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Musgrove. The Friars have yet to announce their Game 4 starter yet, but it’s expected to be the only game this series without one of those three starting.)

But can the Padres conceivably sit Nola, considering how well he’s hitting, for either Luis Campusano or, more likely, Jorge Alfaro, neither of whom have played this postseason?

“We’ll see how he feels,” Melvin said of Nola. “It’s a lot, and he’s caught a lot. … We’ll figure that out along the way.”

Kim’s mad dash
A day later, there was lots of chatter around Ha-Seong Kim scoring from first base on Nola’s fifth-inning single in Game 2. Kim was running with the pitch and put on a clinic in baserunning, according to third-base coach Matt Williams.

Kim’s path around the bases featured no wasted motion and made it an easy send for Williams. On top of that, the Phillies outfielders weren’t especially quick to the baseball.

Ultimately, it might not have made much difference. Kim probably would’ve scored at some point during the five-run rally. But the team didn’t see it that way. The Padres felt Kim’s mad dash was the spark that rally needed.

“It’s an easy send for Matty when you run that hard every step of the way,” Melvin said. “In his mind, once he got past second, he was going to score. [He’s] just a fantastic baserunner, another thing that he does to help us win games.

“And that run was huge in the course of the game -- the momentum, the place went crazy. Now we’re having that feeling like we did [Saturday] night that we’re going to finish this inning off with a lead. And he’s right in the middle of it, as usual.”