MLB: Joe Musgrove throws match with no point or hit

ARLINGTON, Texas – Right-hander Joe Musgrove had the first scorer-less game in San Diego Padres history in a 3-0 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday night.

The Padres were the only active Majorball team without a scoring or hitting game and it comes in the 8206th game in team history.

« It’s amazing to have done it in the Padres uniform, » said Musgrove, who grew up in El Cajon, about twenty kilometers from the Padres stadium. It’s amazing that this is the first in the history of the team. « 

In just his second start with the San Diego roster, which played its first game in 1969, Musgrove (2-0) struck out 10 opponents and faced 28 batters, just one more than the minimum.

ContentId (3.1386713): Joe Musgrove: 1st game without a point or hit in the history of the Padres (MLB)
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Padres manager Jayce Tingler left Musgrove at the mound because he was so efficient. He also knew what it would mean for him and for the team.

“If it can be even more special for him, because he grew up near San Diego and was a Padres fan, this is the most perfect story that has been written,” said Tingler.

The only Rangers player to hit the trails was Joey Gallo, who was hit with a shot after two outs in the fourth inning. Jose Trevino hit a solid arrow to right field for the last out of the eighth and David Dahl hit second baseman Jake Cronenworth hard for the first out of the ninth.

“There were three scenarios where I thought I lost the game without a point or a hit,” Musgrove said.

Musgrove, who made 112 shots, is in his sixth season in the Majors. He pitched for the Houston Astros (2016-17) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2018-20) without a full game in 84 career starts.

« I’m exhausted, » he said after the meeting. There was no way I was going to get out of this game. « 

It was the first scoring or hitting game of the season in the Majors and a second full game.

The last game without a point or hitting was on September 13, 2020, when Chicago Cubs pitcher Alec Mills gave the Milwaukee Brewers nothing. His receiver was Victor Caratini, who was also behind the plate for Musgrove.

The Padres acquired him from the Pirates in a three-team trade involving seven players on January 19.

In his debut with the Padres, Musgrove struck out eight batters and shut out the Arizona Diamondbacks for six innings.

It was the fourth game without a point or a hit at the expense of the Rangers. The latter was achieved by Chicago White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle on April 18, 2007.

According to the site Baseball-Reference, there were 307 games with no runs or hits in Majors history before Musgrove pulled his own for the Padres. Fourteen of them were successful by a group of throwers in a game.

There were 27,575 spectators at Globe Life Field to witness this feat.