\u201cIt\u2019s humbling to see the ovation that I got tonight,\u201d Musgrove said after striking out two and leaving the bases loaded in the ninth in his first appearance since undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2024. \u201cIt\u2019s been really hard for me to sit back and, you know, with the contract and all, and not pitch for two years. I\u2019ve done everything in my power to get back on the mound, and it just hasn\u2019t gone my way. But to still be welcomed back like that and give me that boost in the ninth was huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
A 13-hit attack on top of Michael King\u2019s dominant start set the stage for as soft a landing spot as you could expect in a postseason game.<\/p>\n
Yuki Matsui followed King\u2019s seven-inning gem with a clean eighth inning, clearing the runway for Musgrove to warm up for his first appearance since exiting his 2024 NL Wild Card Series start with the elbow injury that ultimately required surgery.<\/p>\n
Meeting the moment, Musgrove began his at-bat with Michael Busch with a 96 mph strike to begin a three-pitch punchout.<\/p>\n
Musgrove then hit 97 mph on the gun before giving up an 0-1 single to Seiya Suzuki. Ian Happ walked and a single from Nico Hoerner loaded the bases, prompting a mound visit from pitching coach Ruben Niebla.<\/p>\n
That apparently locked Musgrove back in as he fetched a pop-up from Pedro Ramirez and punched out Michael Conforto looking at an 83 mph curve at the top of the zone to win a six-pitch battle and cap a cinematic return to a big-league mound.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was amazing, man,\u201d Musgrove said. \u201cI\u2019m sure coming back in any scenario would feel good, but to come back in a playoff situation with the crowd the way they were tonight at home, yeah, that\u2019s perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SUT-L-padres-0930-mm-027.jpg\")
Joe Musgrove of the San Diego Padres pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the ninth inning during Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series at Petco Park on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Musgrove\u2019s return was the latest chapter in a two-year, stop-and-go adventure following his elbow reconstruction.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d been hoping to pitch in the postseason last year only for the Padres to be eliminated by the Cubs in the opening round. He had a setback after his first exhibition in spring training, took nearly two weeks to get back on the mound after hitting 97 in that Triple-A El Paso game in mid-August and \u2014 with cartilage missing in his elbow \u2014 was having trouble recovering between appearances.<\/p>\n
Then he turned a corner in late September after his focus shifted to pitching in shorter bursts and he was a surprise add to the NL Wild Card Series roster on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, the return of the El Cajon native sent a jolt of energy through the clubhouse as the Padres prepared to host their first postseason game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt brings so much energy to the ballclub,\u201d Fernando Tatis Jr. said hours before homering on the first pitch of the game. \u201cEverybody knows how he goes about his business and how he takes care of himself and the challenge that he has been through, and being able to have success on his life and bouncing back and feeling healthy has just (given) the boys way more energy. If somebody can do it in that style, it\u2019s definitely that guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SUT-L-padres-0929-021.jpg\")
San Diego, CA \u2013 September 28: San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen, Nick Pivetta #27, and Walker Buehler #10 look on during a practice at Petco Park ahead of the Wild Card Series against the Chicago Cubs on September 28, 2026 in San Diego, CA. (K.C. Alfred \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pivetta\u2019s next step<\/p>\n
Musgrove wasn\u2019t the only Padre who had trouble with his rehab.<\/p>\n
He and Nick Pivetta (flexor) started their paths back to the big leagues on the same day in early August at Lake Elsinore. Pivetta walked off the mound that day with elbow discomfort and didn\u2019t get back into a game for three weeks.<\/p>\n
Pivetta resumed his rehab assignment on Aug. 25 with Lake Elsinore, made one start for El Paso and then began a four-start march toward the postseason on Sept. 7.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Pivetta will start Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series. He earned the start by recording a 1.45 ERA and an 18-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 18\u2154 innings since coming off the injured list.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to go day by day,\u201d Pivetta said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019ve gotten lucky, but I think the fact that I\u2019ve been able to pick it up where I left off last year versus where I started the beginning of the year, just feeling healthy. I think we\u2019re just rolling with something that\u2019s really special, and I\u2019m kind of just going to stay in that mode. I can\u2019t tell you why it\u2019s kind of grooving right now. All I can say is I\u2019m healthy, I\u2019m feeling good and I\u2019m excited for the next step.\u201d<\/p>\n
Merrill fondness<\/p>\n
After penning a 40-40 season, Pete Crow-Armstrong is a strong favorite to win his first NL MVP. He could also win a second straight Gold Glove after leading all center fielders with 25 outs above average, according to Statcast.<\/p>\n
So Crow-Armstrong knows a thing or two about center-field play, and he\u2019s become a fan of Jackson Merrill and what he\u2019s accomplished while essentially learning the position in the big leagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019m most impressed by is he has become a premier center fielder defensively after having little to no experience, from my understanding, playing that position throughout the minor leagues,\u201d Crow-Armstrong said. \u201cAnybody that\u2019s able to get thrown into a position in spring training; like it was a few springs ago that he got put in center. He just ended up displaying how much of an athlete he is. He\u2019s just an electric, dynamic force, so I\u2019m a big fan of his. I think he knows that, but yeah, I love getting to compete against him and share the field with him, really.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, he\u2019s good people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Merrill ranked 16th among center fielders this year with six outs above average. He was 30th last year (three) and seventh in 2024 (12), when he finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting.<\/p>\n
\u201927 outs\u2019<\/p>\n
Cubs manager Craig Counsell declined to name a starter for Game 2. If the series extends to Thursday, expect him to do the same thing<\/p>\n
The Cubs put 12 pitchers on their postseason roster \u2014 eight right-handers and four left-handers \u2014 and all of them except Tuesday starter Matthew Boyd will be available at any point for Game 2 or an if-necessary Game 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just got to figure out how to get 27 outs, and the order that that happens \u2014 starter, reliever, closer, setup man \u2014 those words don\u2019t matter,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to get 27 outs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joe Musgrove touched 97 mph in his second rehab start on Triple-A El Paso. Doing so in front…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":480302,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[181,1334,74,76,75,2611,127],"class_list":["post-480301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-latest-headlines","tag-mlb","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-san-diego-padres","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/480302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}