Fastball

San Diego Padres' Pitcher Takes a Shot at Team's Former Closer on Wednesday

The San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night with Robert Suarez securing the save for starting pitcher Joe Musgrove. After the game, Musgrove took a shot at the team's former closer, Josh Hader, who is now pitching in Houston.
Brady Farkas|
Mar 29, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove (44) throws
Mar 29, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove (44) throws | Ray Acevedo-USA TODAY Sports

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San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday night, 3-2, to run their record to 4-5 on the season. It's been an uneven start for San Diego, who is doing its best to stay relevant in the National League West around the loaded Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants.

In the win on Wednesday, San Diego got two hits from Xander Bogaerts offensively. On the mound, they got 6.0 strong innings from veteran right-hander Joe Musgrove, who surrendered just one run on five hits and one walk while striking out seven.

Furthermore, San Diego used three different relievers to help cement the win, including closer Robert Suarez, who went 1.2 innings for the save. He struck out two.

After the game, Musgrove appeared to give kudos to Suarez while taking a shot at the team's old closer, Josh Hader, who now plays for the Houston Astros.

Per Ben Verlander of Fox Sports:

Joe Musgrove after his start today:

"Having a closer that you can go out and rely on for more than just three outs is huge for us."

That will definitely make for some interesting conversation and theatrics when the Padres and Astros play each other this year. Hader spent the last year and a half with the Padres, pitching in 80 different games. In those games, he threw just 72.1 innings, giving credence to Musgrove's point about him going one inning or less per appearance.

Lifetime, Hader is 20-23 with a 2.54 ERA. He's already 0-2 with a 6.75 in just four innings for the Astros this year.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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