Following a 4-3 road trip, the Padres return home to Petco Park manifested with great news: the activation of OF Fernando Tatis Jr. from the 60-Day Injured List to face the Detroit Tigers in game one of the three-game set.

Padres skipper Mike Shildt gave the start to right-hander Joe Musgrove (4.44 ERA), coming off an outing in which he tossed six innings of three-earned run baseball against St. Louis.

Despite all eyes on Tatis Jr., who went 0-for-4, Musgrove picked up his right fielder and dominated the Tigers in a six-shutout innings gem as San Diego cruised to a 3-0 victory.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch proceeded with the opener route as southpaw Tyler Holton (2.44 ERA) made his seventh start in 55 appearances. 

After Holton tossed two scoreless frames, right-hander Brenan Hanifee entered in relief and surrendered the first run of the game; Luis Arráez punched a sinker below the zone through the right side to plate Mason McCoy from second and gave the Friars a 1-0 lead.

The one run was all the Padres needed, as the bullpen locked down the Detroit lineup with the help of San Diego’s trade deadline acquisitions Jason Adam and Tanner Scott, both of whom tossed scoreless seventh and eighth frames.

San Diego grabbed insurance for good measure in the bottom of the eighth inning when Arráez notched his second RBI of the day and singled home Kyle Higashioka. Then, Manny Machado collected his first hit with an RBI single of his own as Arráez scored the third Padres run.

Fireballer Robert Suarez shut the door in the ninth and faced the minimum despite allowing a leadoff single, which he erased when enforcing a 5-4-3 double play to the very next Tiger. Jace Jung, the final batter of the game, popped out to Machado to seal Suarez’s 31st save of the season.

Since his return from injury, including Monday’s gem, Musgrove has posted a 1.30 ERA over 27.2 frames. From the clubhouse, the right-hander spoke with Padres broadcasters Don Orsillo and Mark Grant regarding his performance.

“Overall, six good innings,” Musgrove said. “I felt that I commanded the ball really well. Landed breaking balls early for strikes. Commanded the top of the zone really well with the fastball.

Max Schwartzberg

A San Diegan born and raised, Max Schwartzberg is a diehard Padres fan who created and hosts the YouTube channel Padres Previews, a hub where he passionately delivers Padres news, updates, reactions, and hype videos. At Northeastern, Max broadcasts and writes for baseball, basketball, and hockey. Max dreams of following in the steps of Padres broadcaster and Northeastern alumnus Don Orsillo to become a Major League Baseball announcer.