Joe Musgrove shuts down the Mets with his arm and glove as the Padres win 7-0

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Joe Musgrove allowed just one hit in seven brilliant innings and made a terrific defensive play…

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Joe Musgrove allowed just one hit in seven brilliant innings and made a terrific defensive play to lead the San Diego Padres to a 7-0 win against the New York Mets on Friday night that evened a four-game series between teams in playoff contention.

Musgrove (4-4) faced just one over the minimum as he matched his season high with nine strikeouts and walked none. It was his third start back after missing 2 1/2 months with right elbow inflammation.

With two outs in the sixth, Francisco Lindor hit a bouncer to the right side of the infield. Musgrove bounded off the mound, made a sliding stab at the ball and scooped it with his glove to first baseman Jake Cronenworth for the out. Musgrove and Cronenworth slapped five while smiling.

Musgrove didn’t allow a baserunner until Starling Marte doubled over the head of right fielder David Peralta with one out in the fifth. Musgrove, who grew up in suburban El Cajon, threw the first no-hitter in Padres history on April 9, 2021, at Texas in his second start with his hometown team. Dylan Cease threw the club’s second no-no on July 25 at Washington.

The Mets finished with just two hits while the Padres had 16 hits, including three each by Luis Arraez and Manny Machado.

Arraez and Kyle Higashioka homered for the Padres, who improved to 23-8 since the All-Star break and beat the Mets for the first time in five tries this season. The Padres had lost two straight games for the first time since the break, including in the series opener Thursday night.

The Padres came into the night holding the NL’s second wild-card spot while the Mets were 1 1/2 games out of the third spot.

Mets starter Paul Blackburn (5-4) was knocked out of the game after being hit on the right hand by a line drive by Peralta in the third inning. Blackburn shielded his face with his arm and was hit by the ball, which caromed to second baseman Jose Iglesias, who threw out Peralta. The Mets said he had a bruised hand and will undergo further tests on Saturday.

Blackburn sat on the ground and motioned to his right hand when catcher Francisco Alvarez came out to check on him. He was tended by the training staff and came out of the game. He was replaced by Ryne Stanek with the Padres leading 4-0.

Arraez’s leadoff homer was the eighth of his career and third this year for the Padres. He has four homers this season.

The Padres had four straight hits to open the second, including Higashioka’s two-run homer, his 15th. Jake Cronenworth added a two-out RBI single.

The Padres added on after Blackburn was knocked out of the game. Higashioka greeted Stanek with an RBI double and Arraez had a two-out single.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Mets: Activated rookie RH reliever Dedniel Núñez from the 15-day injured list. Optioned RHP Huascar Brazobán to Triple-A Syracuse.

Padres: Reinstated Yu Darvish from the restricted list and returned him to the 15-day injured list. Designated INF Matthew Batten for assignment. … RF Fernando Tatis Jr. took batting practice on the field for the first time since going on the IL on June 24, retroactive to June 22, with a stress reaction in his right thighbone.

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UP NEXT

Mets LHP David Peterson (7-1, 3.00) and Padres RHP Michael King (11-6, 3.18) are scheduled to start Saturday night.

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AP MLB: https://www.apnews.com/hub/mlb