Joe Musgrove exits with strained elbow as Padres get past Braves – San Diego Union-Tribune

The Padres may have to do this without Joe Musgrove.

With the win over the Braves on Wednesday, the Padres punched their ticket to the NLDS against the Dodgers, but Musgrove walking off the mound in the fourth inning with a strained right elbow certainly cast a shadow over the celebration that followed.

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 out and had a 2.15 ERA in nine starts leading up to Wednesday's start against the Atlanta Braves. The second ramp 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 throws,” Musgrove said Tuesday afternoon, “and in the end I didn't make the progress I needed to because It was me.” I was so focused on getting deep into the game and being as efficient as possible that I didn't use my pitches the way I normally would and didn't prepare them properly.

“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 rallied 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 athletic trainer Ben Fraser followed.

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

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