Musgrove deals in Padres 3-1 loss

Petco Park- San Diego, California

After a high-energy series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Diego Padres were forced to turn around the next day to face the Milwaukee Brewers and their ace, Brandon Woodruff. Woodruff shut down the Padres’ bats, only allowing one hit in six innings, in a 3-1 loss for the Padres.

San Diego did not match the same intensity they used against the Dodgers, and it showed at the plate. Jurickson Profar scored on a groundout in the first inning, and the Padres failed to score following that point. The fighting presence they showed this weekend did not make an appearance Monday night.

“We know we are capable of more,” Padres manager Jayce Tingler said. “These pitching performances, they’re not a fluke. We believe it’s real.”

A loss with only two hits always hurts, but when your starter strikes out 13 batters, it hurts even more. Joe Musgrove, who set a career-high with his 13 strikeouts in seven innings, is now 2-2 with a 1.04 ERA. The struggling Padres lineup, the same one that gave him seven runs of support in his first appearance, has given him three, one, and one runs of support in his last three outings.

Musgrove, despite the career night, did not harp on his teammates or himself.

“I’m more impressed with Woodruff’s performance,” Musgrove said. Watching Woodruff deal is nothing new to Musgrove. They spent the previous three seasons in the same division when Musgrove pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 4 starts this year, Joe Musgrove of the @Padres has 37 strikeouts while allowing just 3 walks and 3 runs.

He's the first pitcher in the modern era to have 35+ strikeouts while allowing no more than 3 walks or 3 runs over his first 4 starts of a season.

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) April 20, 2021

“I thought he was outstanding,” Tingler said about Musgrove. “He was super sharp, especially early. He obviously had a ton of swing and miss, worked quick, commanded the zone, and dictated tempo. I’m sure there are one or two pitches he’d like to have back, but beside that, that’s as good as it gets.”

The only two Padres to get a hit were Jake Cronenworth in the first inning and Victor Caratini in the eighth inning. Cronenworth reached second base with one out but was stranded after a 110.4 MPH groundout and a 109.8 MPH lineout. The Padres followed Caratini’s hit with a pop-up bunt and a double play.

Following Musgrove came Drew Pomeranz and Nick Ramirez. Pomeranz, who last pitched on Friday, surrendered his first run of the year on a Tyrone Taylor pinch-hit home run. Ramirez made his Padres debut with a scoreless ninth inning.

Some good news following a bad night for the Padres is that Dinelson Lamet will make his 2021 season debut on Wednesday afternoon against the Brewers. Lamet finished in fourth place in the NL Cy Young Award voting last season.

Things will not get easier for the Padres, as Corbin Burnes will be the starting pitcher for the Brewers on Tuesday. So far on the year, Burnes has notched 30 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings while allowing just one run and just four hits.

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The bats will need to wake up for San Diego, and they can also use another solid outing from Chris Paddack, who only allowed one earned run in his previous outing. The first pitch will be at 7:10 PT.

Dominic Stearn

Dominic is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism. He also  is the producer and co-host of the “Padres EVT Podcast.”