San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove has been in top form since recovering from bone spurs in his elbow and returning from his second stint on the injured list.
He has an 0.57 ERA with 16 strikeouts and just three walks in 15 2/3 innings in his last three starts (1-0).
Musgrove (4-4, 4.43 ERA this season) will try to keep rolling Wednesday night in the third contest of a four-game series against the Cardinals in St. Louis.
San Diego won 7-4 on Monday night and 7-5 Tuesday night. The Padres have won three straight games and four of their last five.
Musgrove is coming off his best outing of the season: seven innings of one-hit ball in a 7-0 victory over the New York Mets on Friday. He stuck out nine and walked none in his 75-pitch gem.
“Man, that was a masterpiece right there,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “Wow. That was imparting your will. He was just in control the whole way.”
Musgrove integrated a new-found slider with his usual breaking pitches — curveball, cutter and sweeper — to keep the Mets off balance.
“I know where the holes are. This (Mets’) lineup, a lot of dangerous hitters, but I feel like the plan was very clear,” Musgrove said. “The plan fit right into what I do really well.”
Earlier this season, Musgrove picked up a win against the Cardinals in San Diego. He held them to one run on five hits in six innings while striking out seven in a 3-2 victory on April 3.
Musgrove is 3-7 with a 4.87 ERA in 12 career starts against the Cardinals.
The Cardinals on Wednesday will turn to right-hander Andre Pallante (6-6, 3.84 ERA), who continued his late-season success by earning a 6-1 road victory Friday over the Minnesota Twins in his last start. He allowed one run on five hits and two walks in seven innings.
Pallante struck out five and induced 14 ground-ball outs in that game.
In his last three outings, Pallante has allowed just four earned runs on 12 hits in 19 2/3 innings. He has struck out 14 in that span and walked eight while making a case to stay in the rotation once veteran Lance Lynn returns from the injured list.
“Andre’s doing a really nice job, and he needs to stay right where he’s at mentally,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “He doesn’t have to worry about anything but making his next start. Just stay present.”
Pallante has pitched one scoreless inning of relief against the Padres this season, on April 3. He is 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA in five career relief appearances against them.
The Cardinals made a roster move Tuesday to freshen their bullpen, designating Shawn Armstrong for assignment and promoting fellow right-hander Riley O’Brien from Triple-A Memphis.
O’Brien, who was sidelined for most of this season with an arm injury, worked in relief Tuesday night.
“When you look at a lot of the bright spots out of spring training, we were really excited about what Riley could do,” Marmol said. “It was electric arm, he could run it up there, spin it really well. It looked it was something that could help us. Unfortunately, he got hurt early on, and we weren’t able to see him.”
Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado should return to the lineup Wednesday after getting a day off Tuesday. He was available to pinch hit, but Marmol said “anything before the ninth he was off limits.”
–Field Level Media
