Joe Musgrove returns as Padres crush Cubs in Game 1

This started as a roster note on Tuesday afternoon, and it was a big one.

Musgrove hurt his right elbow in that 2024 Wild Card Series against Atlanta, had Tommy John surgery, and then went nearly 730 days without a big league appearance while the rehab kept hitting setbacks. He made 4 minor league rehab starts in August. Putting him on a short playoff roster was still a real bet, and the Padres made room by leaving some familiar arms off.

Musgrove is a San Diego kid who threw the franchise's first no-hitter, so this was never just a depth decision. The Padres still weren't going to hand him a high-leverage spot in his first outing back. They needed a game that got out of hand, and Game 1 gave them exactly that. Michael King dealt, the bats hit early homers, and by the late innings San Diego had room to give him the ball.

Then the bullpen door opened for the 9th and Petco lost it. You don't get a louder building for a guy who's pitching in a blowout.

Foul Territory

@FoulTerritoryTV

Padres fans go NUTS as Joe Musgrove enters a game for the first time since October 2, 2024.

It also turned out to be a real piece of history. Leave out debuts, and only one player before him had shown up in a playoff game without appearing in either of the previous 2 regular seasons, and that guy was coming back from World War II.

The inning itself was a ride. He struck out Michael Busch on 3 pitches, then gave up a single, a walk and another single, and the bases were loaded with an 8-run lead. Pitching coach Ruben Niebla came out to talk to him. Musgrove got Pedro Ramírez to pop up to Jake Cronenworth, then froze Michael Conforto with a curveball to end it. Musgrove said afterward that it was the most nervous he'd ever been with an 8-run lead, which is about as honest as a guy gets.

By Wednesday morning the tension was gone and people were just enjoying it. Musgrove wasn't nitpicking the traffic he put on base. He summed the whole night up in 3 words.

He said basically the same thing on camera, and you can hear what the walk from the bullpen did to him.

Foul Territory

@FoulTerritoryTV

Joe Musgrove's Game 1 entrance was the cherry on top of an incredible night in San Diego. 🔥 "I got goosebumps, man."

San Diego is 1 win from the NLDS, with Game 2 tonight, and a Cubs team that came into October hot has to answer right away. Musgrove probably won't be closing out a blowout again. The Padres still have a pitcher they spent 2 years hoping to get back, and he's already gotten through the hardest outing of his comeback.