Padres' Joe Musgrove exits wild-card entry with elbow injury – San Diego Union-Tribune

With the Padres leading 5-1 in the fourth inning, Joe Musgrove left the mound with an elbow injury, leaving the Padres bullpen to secure its spot in the NLDS.

The Padres said Musgrove was suffering from tightness in his right elbow. On the ESPN broadcast, Musgrove was seen shaking his right arm sometime in the fourth inning as his velocity decreased.

Musgrove has been on the injured list twice this season due to elbow problems caused by bone spurs.

He returned to the rotation in August after more than two months off and had a 2.15 ERA in nine starts leading up to Wednesday's start against the Atlanta Braves. The second ramp-up included more than a month of rest, a PRP injection, and a revision of the delivery to take pressure off the elbow.

“In the past, I've had injuries and come back, and I tried to do a little too much with a small number of pitches, and I ended up not getting the progression work I needed because I was so focused on pitching deep “Improving the game and being as efficient as possible, I didn't use my pitches the way I normally would and I didn't prepare them properly,” Musgrove said Tuesday afternoon.

“Even in my rehab, I’ve always been the type of guy to cross the bridge when we get there.”

Musgrove allowed a run in the first inning – Michael Harris II doubled to lead the game and scored on a sacrifice fly – but did not allow a baserunner after the first inning and piled up four strikeouts as the Padres gathered to give him a head start.

He beat Ozzie Albies and started the fourth batting with a four-seater that started at 94 mph. The four-seater before Marcell Ozuna's groundout dropped to 92 mph. After flying two mid-70s curves into Matt Olson, a pitch that reached 82 mph early in the game, catcher Kyle Higashioka called a timeout for a mound visit.

Pitching coach Ruben Niebla joined them. Padres manager Mike Shildt and a trainer followed.

After a long conversation on the mound as the infielders huddled, Shildt Musgrove tapped the “PS” heart on his jersey as he left the mound with a trainer and the glove in his right hand.

Originally published: October 2, 2024 at 7:02 p.m