NEW YORK — With a magnificent performance on a memorable night in his ballclub’s history, Joe Musgrove brought this one home for the San Diego Padres and really stuck it to the New York Mets.
The right-hander brushed off chants of “Cheater!” after a bizarre spot check by umpires on the mound, pitching his hometown Padres into the next round of the playoffs with seven innings of one-hit ball Sunday in a 6-0 victory over the listless Mets.
“You could see the resolve in his face and the demeanor he had,” San Diego manager Bob Melvin said. “He was on a mission today.”
Trent Grisham hit an RBI single and made a terrific catch in center field that helped the Padres take the best-of-three wild-card series 2-1. Austin Nola and Juan Soto each had a two-run single.
San Diego advanced to face the top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-five National League Division Series beginning Tuesday, ensuring the Padres will play in front of their home fans in the postseason for the first time in 16 years when they return to Petco Park for Game 3.