NEW YORK — Joe Musgrove tossed seven innings of scoreless, one-hit ball and retired six of the final seven batters he faced after being checked for illegal substances Sunday night as the visiting San Diego Padres beat the New York Mets 6-0 in the decisive third game of their National League wild-card series.
“I told (Austin Nola) in the bullpen, I’m going to have the game of my life tonight,” Musgrove said. “I try to take on the weight of everybody that wants that moment – the fans, the girlfriends and wives that all flew out here, all the fans that made the trip, the organization, the people that have waited, the $100 million that they have spent on me for these moments. I put a lot on my shoulders tonight.”
The Padres, the fifth seed in the NL, advance to face the top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers in an NL Division Series scheduled to begin Tuesday. The Dodgers finished 22 games ahead of San Diego in the NL West this season.
The Mets, who won 101 regular season games and spent 175 days in first place in the NL East this year, head into an uncertain offseason in which Jacob deGrom is expected to opt out of his contract and closer Edwin Diaz and leadoff hitter Brandon Nimmo are headed for free agency.
Musgrove retired the first 12 batters he faced before Pete Alonso singled leading off the fifth. Just before the bottom of the sixth started, Mets manager Buck Showalter walked on to the field and asked umpires to check Musgrove, whose ears appeared to be glistening with a glossy substance per photos on social media.
After his ears, hat and glove were checked for illegal substances, Musgrove threw a perfect sixth inning and appeared to shout at the Mets’ dugout on his way off the field.
Musgrove (1-0) struck out five and walked one. Robert Suarez struck out two in a perfect eighth before Josh Hader tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the 15th one-hitter in postseason history and the first since the Washington Nationals blanked the St. Louis Cardinals on Oct. 11, 2019.
“Well, look, we won the first game, they won the second game and Joe Musgrove pitched the third game for us,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “That’s what ended up being the difference.”
Nola had a two-run single in the second off Chris Bassitt (0-1). Trent Grisham continued his big series with an RBI single in the fourth and Manny Machado had an RBI single in the fifth before Juan Soto added a two-run base hit in the eighth.
Grisham homered in each of the first two games and hit .500 (4-for-8) while reaching base in eight of 12 plate appearances. He reached base just 10 times in 60 plate appearances after Aug. 31.
Bassitt allowed three runs on three hits and three walks while striking out two over four innings.
“No matter where you lose, it’s stunning. I’ve lost in this one. I’ve lost in the next round. It doesn’t matter what round you lose in. It just sucks. I would say almost every playoff team, they have a really special group and you don’t want to leave,” Bassitt said. “It’s a terrible, terrible feeling.”
–By Jerry Beach, Field Level Media
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