Fresh off no-hitter, Joe Musgrove leads Padres vs. Pirates

What a week it's been for San Diego right-hander Joe Musgrove. He threw the first no-hitter in Padres history Friday against Texas. Wednesday, he faces his former team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, at PNC Park, fresh off being named National League player of the week for the first time in his career.

Musgrove (2-0, 0.00 ERA) will face Pittsburgh left-hander Tyler Anderson (0-2, 5.23 ERA) in the second game of a four-game series.

Musgrove, 28, a San Diego native, went home when he was traded to the Padres as part of Pittsburgh's rebuilding offseason, and became the sixth pitcher since 1990 to deliver a no-hitter for a team in the state where he was born.

Now he returns to what became a second home during his three seasons with the Pirates.

"I love this city, man," Musgrove said Tuesday in Pittsburgh. "It really grew on me over the couple years I was here. The fact that I kind of dove into the culture of the city and really tried to take that on and embrace it, I feel like I had a lot of fans here and a lot of family."

Although he was with the Pirates during an era of down years, he appreciated what he took from pitching in Pittsburgh in a sort of coming-of-age way.

"I learned a ton. I learned how to deal with failure. I learned how to internalize," Musgrove said. "I put so much pressure on myself to go out there and try and do everything perfectly, putting myself in a position where I felt like every run I gave up was three runs."

Musgrove added that he learned "to be a good teammate, be there for guys and be available, but to really focus on what I need to do to bring my best out. And ultimately the biggest impact I have is being good."

He certainly was that Friday.

"It's given me new insight into how I need to approach the game mentally and prepare, the level of calmness that I have to have matched with intensity," Musgrove said in reflecting on the no-hitter. "I feel like I'm starting to figure out what I'm truly capable of and who I am as a pitcher."

He has an interesting game to follow. Pittsburgh evened the series at its midpoint with an 8-4 win that had more mistakes and sloppy plays than runs by a large factor.

"Crazy I guess is the right word," said Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings, who was 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

One thing to watch from the Padres' perspective is the status of right fielder Wil Myers. A night after he matched a career high with five RBIs in Monday's win, Myers left Tuesday's game after the third inning with what afterward was described by the team as right knee inflammation, a problem he also had during the spring.

Pittsburgh's Anderson is coming off a loss to the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh's home opener Thursday, when he gave up three runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings, with no walks and five strikeouts.

Anderson is 3-2 with a 2.61 ERA in nine career games against San Diego, eight of those starts. Musgrove is 0-1 with an 11.25 ERA in one previous start against the Pirates.

--Field Level Media