NEW YORK — San Diego Padres starter Joe Musgrove knew Sunday was the biggest start of his life and his stomach ached all day.
The stakes were high. A winner-takes-all playoff finale pitching in front of a hostile New York City crowd at Citi Field. San Diego needs a strong start from righty after the team struggled in Game 2 against the Mets.
As Musgrove contemplated the five-year, $100 million contract the Padres rewarded him with in August, he felt the weight of the Padres season falling on his shoulders.
But as the first pitch ticked closer and Musgrove warmed up in the Citi Field bullpen, he pulled aside Padres catcher Austin Nola to talk about the night ahead of them.
“I’m off to the best start of my life,” Musgrove told Nola.
His hunch came true, as Musgrove went seven innings, making only one hit, one walk and striking out five batters, propelling the Padres to a 6-0 victory and punching a ticket to the NLDS and a matchup against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In the process, Musgrove made history, becoming the first pitcher in major league history to throw seven shutout innings and allow one hit in a winner-take-all postseason game.
Throughout the evening, Musgrove relied on his fastball, cutter, curveball and slider to completely dominate the Mets lineup, retiring the first 12 batters of the game, good for the longest perfect game in Padres postseason history. The Mets struggled to build any offensive momentum against the Padres, with first baseman Pete Alonso tallying the Mets’ only hit of the evening in the fifth inning.
“You could see the determination in [Musgrove’s] face and in his demeanor,” Melvin said. “He’s on a mission today.”
An odd moment came in the bottom of the sixth inning when Mets manager Buck Showalter was asked to do a substance check on Musgrove as a picture circulated online of the Padres starter’s ear appeared to light up. The umpires next dug their fingers in and around Musgrove’s ears, but did not find anything violating the rules.
Mets fans at Citi Field followed the investigation with loud boos directed at Musgrove, with chants of “cheater” echoing throughout the stadium.
“We didn’t find anything,” referee Alfonso Marquez said.
Melvin took issue with the Mets asking to check Musgrove for foreign substances.
“My problem is that Joe Musgrove is a man of character,” Melvin said. “Questioning his character, that’s the part I have a problem with and I’m here to tell everybody that Joe Musgrove is as high on the board as any pitcher that I know, any player that I know and unfortunately getting him after that was unnecessary.
After checking the substance, Musgrove struck out Mets catcher Tomas Nido and gestures towards the New York dugout, swiping under his nose. Musgrove said the foreign substance check by the Mets was “desperate” and the team’s “last ditch effort to get me out of the game.”
“It almost just lit a fire under me,” Musgrove said.
Showalter said the team was privy to the information – including the increased spin rate from Musgrove – which led him to ask the umpire to check for foreign matter. According to Baseball Savant, all of Musgrove’s pitches on Sunday night exceeded his rotation-per-minute season average.
“I’m charged with doing what’s best for the New York Mets,” Showalter said. “If it makes me look however it makes me look or whatever, I’ll do it every time and live with the consequences. I’m not here to hurt anybody’s feelings.”
The Padres will be making their second appearance in the division series since 2006, with the only other appearance coming in 2020 when they lost to the eventual World Series champion Dodgers.
Los Angeles went 14-5 against the Padres in the regular season. The Dodgers ranked as the top offense in baseball in 2022, scoring 847 runs, while San Diego ranked 13th among all teams, scoring 705 runs. The Dodgers also have the lowest team ERA in baseball while the Padres rank 11th.
Sunday’s win also ensures the Padres will play their first playoff home game with fans at Petco Park since 2006.
“This is one of the best feelings about tonight,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “We talked about it in the hitters meeting today. There is a lot on the line here and there are many reasons to be motivated and inspired. One of them is bringing this thing back to San Diego and giving them postseason experience.”
With Musgrove pitching exceptionally well in the biggest game of his career, Mets starter Chris Bassitt had little room for error, but the Padres offense took advantage of every opportunity they earned early in the game.
San Diego’s offense came slowly throughout the course of the evening. Catcher Austin Nola started the tally with a single to left field that scored first baseman Josh Bell and shortstop Ha-Seong Kim. In the fourth inning, Padres outfielder Trent Grisham — who led the Padres offense in the previous Wild Card game with two homers — singled on a sharp line drive to center field, scoring Kim.
Bassitt left the game after four innings, allowing three runs on three hits, three walks and two strikeouts.
“I just beat myself up,” Bassitt said. “Looking back at Atlanta’s start, I’m not sure how many runs they scored on walks, then tonight I know they scored two guys on walks. Not too proud of that.”
The Mets bullpen isn’t much better. Third baseman Manny Machado added it in the fifth inning by hitting a line drive single off reliever David Peterson to right field, scoring outfielder Jurickson Profar, making the score 4-0. In the eighth, outfielder Juan Soto added some cushion by singling to left field off Edwin Diaz, scoring Kim and Grisham. Six runs from the Padres proved to be more than enough to punch a ticket to the Division Series.
“It’s a kick on the ball,” Scherzer said.
The stakes are high for the Padres, who made blockbuster moves at the trade deadline for superstar outfielder Juan Soto and reliever Josh Hader. San Diego also dealt with its problems after the 80-game suspension in August of superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
The Padres have made a significant financial investment in Tatis, Soto, Machado, Yu Darvish, Wil Myers and Blake Snell, expecting to contend for the World Series title.
Sunday’s victory brought San Diego one step closer.
The Wild Card Series will be three games all in the same ballpark with no travel. There will be no more seeding, so the winner of the Rays-Guardians series faces the Yankees in the ALDS while the Mariners-Blue Jays winner goes to Houston.
Is MLB wild card best of 3?
MLB is using a 12-team playoff format for the first time in 2022, with eight teams participating in the best-of-three Wild Card Series.
How many games in the 2022 Wild Card Series? The three Wild Card teams will be the fourth, fifth and sixth seeds. The third seed will host the sixth seed in a best-of-three Wild Card series, and the fourth seed will do the same as the fifth seed. The postseason begins on Friday, October 7, two days after the end of the regular season.
Is the wild card game best of 3?
The 2022 Major League Baseball postseason is here. The MLB regular season wraps up Wednesday and the expanded 12-team playoffs get under way on Friday with a best-of-three Wild Card series. This is the largest playoff field ever for a full, 162-game season, and you can read more about the new format here.
How many games are the wild card?
MLB has only had a limited history of three-game playoff series, but an expanded postseason in 2020 gives us eight best-of-three Wild Card Series. Six of the eight teams that won Game 1 in the series advanced. All six of those were two-game sweeps.
What is the rule for a wild card?
A fully wild card can be designated by its owner as any card they choose with no restrictions. In this rule, for example, hands with all natural pairs and wild cards become three of a kind. On the contrary, bugs are limited wild.
How many games are MLB wild card?
This year’s postseason will feature a new format, expanding the pool of teams from 10 to 12 and replacing the two-elimination Wild Card Games with four Best-of-three Wild Card Series, followed by a Best-of-Five Division. Series.
How many games are in the Wild Card Series 2021?
Each full season from 2012 through 2021 includes just two â instant-elimination wild-card games in the National and American Leagues. Now, 40 percent of the major league teams â 12 out of 30 â will qualify for the playoffs.
How long is the Wild Card Series?
The results. Through the 2021 postseason, the away team and the home team have each won nine of the 18 games played.
What time is the MLB wild card game?
Time: 4:07 p.m. ET. TV Channel: ESPN.
What channel is the World Series on 2022? The 2022 World Series will be televised in its entirety on FOX and Fox Deportes. FOX will bring you English coverage, while Fox Deportes will set you up with Spanish commentary.
What channel is MLB wild card game on?
The MLB Postseason opens with the Wild Card Series presented by Hankook Tire on ESPN, ABC, ESPN2 and the ESPN App.
What channels are the MLB playoffs on?
| the date | clash | television |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, October 22 | NLCS, Game 4 | Fox or FS1 |
| ALCS, Game 3 | TBS | |
| Sunday, October 23 | NLCS, Game 5 (if nec.) | FS1 |
| ALCS, Game 4 | TBS |
What time is the National League wild card?
When is the match and how can I watch it? Wild Card Series Game 2 is scheduled for 7:37 p.m. ET on Saturday at Citi Field (4:37 p.m. PT).
Is the NL wild card game on TV?
WILD CARD SERIES (ALL TIMES ET) The openers of all four AL and NL Division Series are scheduled for Tuesday, October 11, with potential Game 5s scheduled for October 16 (NLDS) and October 17 (ALDS). FOX or FS1 will handle coverage for the NLDS, while TBS will cover the ALDS.
What baseball teams are in the playoffs 2022?
MLB Power Rankings: How the eight remaining teams in the 2022 playoffs stack up ahead of the LDS round
- Dodgers.
- Astros.
- Be brave.
- Yankees.
- Padres.
- Sailor.
- Phillies.
- guardian
How many games are played in MLB Wild Card playoffs?
Matchups are contested as best-of-three series rather than individual games. MLB returned to its previous format of one Wild Card Game per league for the 2021 postseason, before changing to two best-of-three Wild Card series per league next year.
How many games is the Wild Card Series? This year’s postseason will feature a new format, expanding the pool of teams from 10 to 12 and replacing the two-elimination Wild Card Games with four Best-of-three Wild Card Series, followed by a Best-of-Five Division. Series.