Bats come alive, Musgrove continues pitching mojo, Padres beat D-backs 5-2
Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Chase Field- Phoenix, Arizona
Joe Musgrove felt the pressure as the next starting pitcher following Yu Darvish and Sean Manaea’s brilliant performances. To start the season, Padres starters were yet to allow a single hit through 13 innings. It was up to the El Cajon native to keep the mojo going on the night, which marked the one-year anniversary of when he immortalized himself with the first no-hitter in Padres franchise history.
The first inning indicated that Musgrove was not going to make history for a second April 9th in a row. The Diamondbacks notched their first hit of the season off of a starting pitcher and eventually scratched across a run. David Peralta lined a double, scoring Ketel Marte to give Arizona an early 1-0 lead.
The lead was short-lived. In the top of the third, Trent Grisham worked a walk. Matt Beaty reached on a fielder’s choice and then scored on Manny Machado’s RBI double, tying the game at one.
Machado gets the @Padres started š„#OpeningWeek pic.twitter.com/w67OWGcmi0
— Bally Sports San Diego (@BallySportsSD) April 10, 2022
The Padres got a crucial hit from Jake Cronenworth with two outs, as he singled up the middle to score Machado, putting the Friars up front 2-1.
Both pitching staffs nailed it down for several frames after that. Musgrove settled in after a shaky first inning and ended on a solid note. Though he did not take a no-hitter deep into the game like his two predecessors on the mound, he did continue the streak of quality starts. He finished with six innings of work, five hits, and two runs allowed while walking zero and striking out eight, which is the most by a Padres starter so far this year.
Though he kept the Diamondbacks mostly quiet for the remainder of his outing, Peralta became a pest once more, launching a game-tying solo shot in the bottom of the sixth.
Musgrove left after six and would not factor into the decision.
In the eighth, the Padres were able to spark a rally to pull ahead. With runners on first and third, Eric Hosmer lined a hard grounder which bounced off of Marte’s glove at second base and into the outfield, giving the Padres a 3-2 lead. Austin Nola then followed that up with a sacrifice fly that pushed the lead to 4-2.
The Padres held that lead going into the top of the ninth, where two San Diego rookies made their presence felt. CJ Abrams floated a base hit into left to lead off the inning, marking his first career hit in the big leagues.
This is going to be the first of many @MLB hits for C.J. Abrams.#TimeToShine | @CJAbrams01 pic.twitter.com/5DI9cemATJ
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 10, 2022
Abrams worked his way to third ahead of fellow rookie Jose Azocar, who grounded a ball up the middle for his first big league hit and RBI, scoring Abrams. More importantly, it increased San Diego’s lead to 5-2, heading into the bottom of the ninth.
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For the second straight night, new closer Taylor Rogers came in and made quick work of the Diamondbacks on just ten pitches. He earned his second save in as many nights, and the Padres clinched at least a series split. They hope to earn the four-game series win on Sunday with Blake Snell on the mound.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.
Besides the great starting pitching, I’m impressed with the offense… multiple hit games, and runs without having to rely on the home run too much…I know it’s early, but you gotta love the way Hos is playing… maybe at some point, the Hos-Haters will shut the &@%$ up….