NEW YORK — Starter Joe Musgrove The dominant force in the New York MetsAs the winner, he managed one hit throughout the evening. San Diego Padres The National League Wild Card Series Game 3 was won by the team with a 6-0 win. This gave them a ticket to Sunday’s NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
San Diego won Game 1 against New York. Max Scherzer Despite having four homers in the 7-1 win, they struggled to mount much of an offensive in Game 2. Jacob deGromIn a 7-3 loss, only two runs were allowed in six innings by Corey Seager.
San Diego needed Musgrove’s help after a Game 2 in which the Mets offense was focusing on the Padres pitching. Musgrove relied heavily on his slider, cutter, curveball, and cutter to dominate the Mets lineup throughout the night. The Mets failed to create any offensive momentum against Padres. Pete Alonso Musgrove scored the only run of the night with a hit. Musgrove lasted seven innings, allowing only one run, striking out five batters and walking one.
Mets starter Musgrove was exceptional in his biggest game of the career. Chris Bassitt The Padres offense was able to capitalize on every opportunity they had early in the game. There was very little room for error.
San Diego’s offense developed gradually over the course of the night. Catcher Austin Nola The tally began with a single to leftfield that scored the first baseman Josh Bell And shortstop Ha-Seong Kim. In the fourth innings, Padres outfielder Trent Grisham Kim, who was the Padres’ leading offense in the Wild Card game with two homers, scored on a sharp line drive into center field.
After four innings Bassitt was out of the game. He allowed three runs, three hits, three walks, and two strikeouts.
The Mets bullpen didn’t fare as well. Third baseman Manny Machado In the fifth inning, a single-off line drive of reliever was added. David Peterson Right field, scoring outfielder Jurickson ProfarThe score is now 4-0. Outfielder Juan Soto Added some cushion by singing to left field Edwin DiazGrisham and Kim were scored. The six runs scored by the Padres were enough to secure a ticket to Division Series.
In the sixth inning, Buck Showalter, the Mets manager requested a substance test on Musgrove after photos circulated online showing the Padres starter’s ears shining. The umpires then looked inside Musgrove’s ears, but found nothing.
The Padres will be making their second appearance in the division series, having last appeared in it in 2006. Their only previous appearance was in 2020, when they were defeated by the eventual World Series champion Dodgers. Los Angeles finished the regular season at 14-5 against Padres. In 2022, the Dodgers were ranked as the best offense in baseball, scoring 847 runs. San Diego was 13th, scoring 705 runs. The Dodgers also had a team ERA of 11.1, while the Padres had 11.
The stakes for the Padres are high, as they made bold moves at the trade deadline to acquire superstar outfielder Juan Soto. Josh Hader. San Diego also dealt with the fallout following the 80-game suspension in August of superstar shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., who tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
The Padres have made large financial investments in Tatis Soto and Machado. Yu Darvish, Wil Myers And Blake SnellThey were expecting to compete for a World Series title. But, the results so far have been disappointing. A.J. Preller was hired in 2014. San Diego has not made the playoffs since 2020 and this season.