Padres Notes: Ominous Joe Musgrove Update, Manny Machado's Viral Kick, Pirates Preview

The San Diego Padres came from behind to beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-6, on Sunday to secure their first series win of the 2026 season.

Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill each hit go-ahead home runs while the bullpen continued its dominance outside of Wandy Peralta's struggles.

The Padres moved to 4-5 on the year heading into their next series against the 6-3 Pittsburgh Pirates.

During the game, Machado had a viral incident where he collided with a throw on a pickoff attempt by Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez, kicking the ball into foul territory and allowing both he and Merrill to advance a base.

Machado addressed that moment after the game, claiming it was unintentional.

"Nah, I mean, I'm trying to get out of the way," Machado said. "It was perfect timing. ... You're trying to bounce up and get out of that way of that ball, you know?

"I started low, obviously. So, I'm trying to decide if I'm going to slide or not, going back into the base. And then obviously, I saw the ball coming kind of down low so I kind of jumped up in the air. As I'm coming down and kind of my foot just came in, and I obviously hit it."

In other news, right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove recently provided a somewhat ominous update on his return timeline.

Musgrove suffered a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery this spring that forced him to open the season on the injured list. He appears nowhere near a return.

“I’m just in the beginning stages of picking up a throwing program,” Musgrove said. “I’m pretty basic right now. I’m not throwing off the mound yet.”

He added: “During the spring I wasn’t feeling my best. I was capable of going out throwing, but just not recovering great. I pushed myself trying to see if I could break through. Maybe it’s part of the process of building back up and breaking down the scar tissue or what not.

“It really didn’t turn the corner for me. So, I figured I’d address it now before we get into the heat of the season and have to miss a lot of time.”

Finally, as the Padres get set to take on the Pirates, we previewed the series, looking at pitching matchups, key injuries and some bold predictions for the three-game set.

Here’s more information on these stories and all the latest Padres news (click the headline for the full article):

Latest Joe Musgrove Update Spells Bad News for Him Returning to Padres Soon

Padres' Manny Machado Addresses Viral Kicking Incident During Red Sox Game

Padres vs Pirates: Series Preview, Key Injuries, Bold Prediction

Padres' Sung-Mun Song Not Expected to Come Off Injured List When Eligible

Padres' Fernando Tatis Says He's Learned How to Mature in MLB Career

Padres Have Griffin Canning Injury Update Amid Rotation Struggles

Padres Tweets of the Day

So good, so good. pic.twitter.com/nI9c5dncCx
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 5, 2026

Last 9 batters vs Mason Miller:
9 Ks.
Just 6 called balls total.

That’s absurd. https://t.co/losEzUdPRk
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 6, 2026

The Kid's not afraid of Monsters. pic.twitter.com/PyizTZlNI8
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 5, 2026

He did the Mash. He did the Monster Mash. pic.twitter.com/nJfLkkJzzy
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) April 5, 2026

Willson Contreras tried telling the umpire that Manny Machado intentionally kicked this ball into foul territory pic.twitter.com/2vOfKBYdqq
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 5, 2026