Joe Musgrove silences Mets' bats, helps Padres advance to NLDS
On Sunday night, a big-time performance from starter Joe Musgrove helped the San Diego Padres advance to the National League Division Series after defeating the New York Mets, 6-0, in Game 3 of the National League Wildcard round.
Musgrove was dominant, allowing just one hit through seven innings of work to earn the win on the mound. According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, Musgrove's performance on Sunday made him the first pitcher in postseason history to throw seven or more innings while allowing fewer than two hits in a winner-take-all game.
The offense behind Musgrove was opportunistic against the Mets in Game 3, striking several times on the night with two outs.
San Diego opened the scoring in the second inning. With Josh Bell on first with two outs, Ha-Seong Kim and Trent Grisham drew back-to-back walks before an Austin Nola RBI single gave the Padres a 2-0 lead.
The Padres struck again with two outs in the fourth inning. After Jake Cronenworth and Wil Myers went down to start the inning, Kim drew another walk before stealing second base. Grisham was next, singling home Kim to increase the San Diego lead to 3-0.
Manny Machado singled home another run in the fifth, making it 4-0 Padres.
In the sixth, Game 3 saw a little tomfoolery unfold. Mets manager Buck Showalter asked umpires to check for illegal substances on Padres' starter Joe Musgrove, who was pitching a no-hitter at the time. Umpires thoroughly examined Musgrove but found nothing, and play continued.
The Padres' bats continued to do damage with two outs in the eighth inning. With runners on second and third, Soto hit an opposite-field single off Mets' closer Edwin Diaz, upping the Friars' advantage to 6-0.
San Diego held onto the lead into the ninth when Josh Hader entered and set down the Mets one, two, three to eliminate New York and send the Padres to the NLDS.
The Padres will now face the NL West division champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who posted the best record in the Major Leagues this season at 111-51.
The Dodgers will host the Padres for Game 1 on Tuesday, time still to be determined.
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