Padres eliminate Mets in do-or-die Game 3 behind Joe Musgrove's stellar start
The Mets had just one hit and two baserunners at their home ballpark
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Joe Musgrove’s dominant outing and the San Diego Padres' timely hitting led to a 6-0 win in a do-or-die Game 3 against the New York Mets at Citi Field on Sunday.
The Padres avoided elimination and will move on to the National League Division Series against their National League West rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets, a team that won 100 games this season but dropped their division lead to the Atlanta Braves late in the regular season, will have to wait until next season to fulfill their World Series aspirations.
The story of the game was Musgrove, who had his best outing of the season when the Padres needed it most. He took a no-hitter against the Mets in front of a loud opposing crowd and ended up becoming the first pitcher ever to go seven or more innings of one-hit ball or less in a winner-take-all game.
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Juan Soto #22 of the San Diego Padres celebrates after hitting a 2 run RBI single against the New York Mets during the eighth inning in game three of the National League Wild Card Series at Citi Field on October 09, 2022 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. ( Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
Musgrove’s final line read seven innings, one hit and five strikeouts over 86 pitches, 59 of which went for strikes.
He was dealing so well that Mets manager Buck Showalter had umpires check Musgrove for a sticky substance on his ear, as social media showed it to be shiny while he consistently touched his ear. His spin rates on all of his pitches were up as well, but umpires found nothing on him.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On offense, the Padres collected 10 hits and came through with runners in scoring position, going 4-for-11 in those situations.
METS MAKE UMPIRES CHECK JOE MUSGROVE FOR STICKY SUBSTANCES DOWN FOUR RUNS, PADRES TAKE EXCEPTION
First, it was Austin Nola, who shortened up on an 0-2 count with two runners in scoring position and two outs and slapped a single to left field to give the early lead to the Padres.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Josh Hader #71 of the San Diego Padres celebrates with Austin Nola #26 after defeating the New York Mets in game three to win the National League Wild Card Series at Citi Field on October 09, 2022 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. the San Diego Padres defeated the New York Mets with a score of 6 to 0. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Then, the man that has lit up Citi Field since coming to Queens, Trent Grisham, singled to center field with two outs in the top of the fourth to bring home Ha-Seong Kim to make it 3-0.
The Mets, still struggling to get anything over on Musgrove, couldn’t stop Manny Machado in the top of the fifth inning, as he singled home Jurickson Profar to take a commanding 4-0 lead.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Juan Soto, the team’s prized trade deadline acquisition would single in Kim and Grisham in the top of the eighth to make it 6-0 and effectively kill any spirit the Mets had left.
New York finished the game with just two baserunners, as Pete Alonso had the lone hit for the blue and orange.
Joe Musgrove #44 of the San Diego Padres looks on against the New York Mets during the second inning in game three of the National League Wild Card Series at Citi Field on October 09, 2022 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Padres will head to Los Angeles now to face a team that has dominated them this season, going 14-5 this season. Game 1 of the NLDS will be on Tuesday night.