SAN DIEGO — Joe Musgrove is trying to finish strong. He is, in fact, working on completing one of the best seasons ever by a San Diego Padres pitcher.
Along the way, having already thrown the first no-hitter in franchise history, the Grossmont High alumnus just might help his hometown team to its seventh postseason berth in 53 years.
He continues doing his part, anyway. Even when he’s not at his sharpest.
Musgrove allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings, and the Padres added on late to pummel the Houston Astros 10-2 Saturday night at Petco Park.
The Padres scored their first four runs in the second inning, four more on a pair of two-run homers by Manny Machado and Wil Myers in the seventh and the final two on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s two-run homer in the eighth.
The victory kept the Padres a half-game behind the Cincinnati Reds in the race for the National League’s second (and final) wild-card spot.
Saturday was the 22nd time in 27 games Musgrove, the only member of the Padres’ season-opening starting rotation to not spend time on the injured list, went at least five innings. It was just the second time in his past eight starts he did not go at least six innings.
The big right-hander didn’t have quite the command of nor the vicious movement on his pitches that he had eight days earlier in throwing his second shutout. And he was facing the team with the major leagues’ second-highest OPS.
He threw 100 pitches and left with a runner at first base in the sixth. Tim Hill ended the inning on one pitch by getting a double play grounder from Kyle Tucker.
Musgrove had started and gone at least six innings in two of the Padres’ four wins since Aug. 16. Saturday night was the seventh time in his past eight starts and the 19th time in his 27 games he has allowed two or fewer runs.
In his previous two starts, outings in which he went nine scoreless innings and allowed one run in six innings, his performance helped the Padres stop four-game losing streaks. They entered Saturday night having lost two in a row.
The Padres have now won six of his past eight starts.
There had been some question as to why Musgrove did not start Friday against a team he shut out over five perfect innings of relief on May 30 in Houston.
Musgrove, however, understood why he got a full week between starts after throwing a shutout Aug. 27 against the Angels. He will likely make his next start Friday at Dodger Stadium and also throw five days after that in San Francisco.
“Down the stretch, we’re clear on where we’re at in the standings,” Musgrove said Friday. “We’re not six games out and we need to make up games. We’re right there within a game. We want our best guys out there, but it’s also important to keep them healthy and not push too much. Over the next week or two we’ll see what position we’re in, but I feel ready to take the ball whenever it’s my turn.”
Musgrove throws four types of pitches at least 17% of the time, the only qualifying pitcher in the majors to do so. His command and effectiveness with those pitches has helped him to a 2.87 ERA and 1.01 WHIP, numbers that rose slightly Saturday but still rank in the top 10 in the National League.
An occasional downside to his vast arsenal is there are games when Musgrove needs time to find the feel for certain offerings. There are also times he never quite finds that feel, and Saturday was one of those games.
Three two-out singles helped the Astros to a run in the first inning, and Kyle Tucker made it 2-0 when he led off the second inning by sending an 0-1 fastball that was pretty much square in the heart of the strike zone over the wall in right-center field.
That’s when the Padres started scoring and Musgrove kept grinding, as he does so often that 11-year veteran Eric Hosmer said last week, “He competes better than anyone I’ve ever played with.”
With one out in the second inning, four straight Padres reached base against a suddenly wild Framber Valdez — Myers on a double, Adam Frazier when he was hit on the bill of his helmet by a pitch, Austin Nola on a single that scored Myers and Jurickson Profar on a single that loaded the bases.
After Musgrove struck out, Tatis grounded the first pitch he saw through the right side to bring home Frazier and Nola and give the Padres a 3-2 lead.
The lead became 4-2 when Valdez was called for a balk after making a move toward home before throwing to first base trying to chase Tatis back. That sent Profar jogging home.
Valdez then bounced a pitch into Machado before getting Jake Cronenworth to ground out.
In the seventh, a walk by Tatis preceded Machado’s 453-foot drive to the second deck of seats beyond left field, and a walk by Cronenworth came before Myers’ 383-foot blast that landed in the second balcony of the Western Metal Building.
Tatis added his 444-foot shot with two outs in the eighth after Nola had walked.
Musgrove was unable to get through an inning without the Astros reaching base.
He issued a two-out walk in the third, surrendered a one-out double in the fourth and a lead-off single in the fifth. He was at 94 pitches after five, though no one began throwing in the Padres’ bullpen until Musgrove took the mound to start the sixth inning.
Four Padres pitchers (Randy Jones, Gaylord Perry, Mark Davis and Jake Peavy) have won Cy Young awards, all of them but Davis as starters. Unless Musgrove throws a few more shutouts and maybe another no-hitter, he won’t do that this season.
But of the 143 times a starting pitcher has made 25 or more starts in a season for the Padres, Musgrove’s current ERA ranks 16th. His WHIP is second lowest. His .204 batting average allowed ranks third.
