Musgrove earns first win since no-hitter as Padres survive Cards 5-4

Manny Machado drove in a pair of runs and Joe Musgrove struck out five in his first win of the year since throwing his no-hitter on April to elevate the Padres over the Cardinals by a score of 5-4 on Friday night in Petco Park.

Last night’s contest was the first between the two clubs since the Friars eliminated the Cards in the NLWCS last October.

As Musgrove put it after the game, it wasn’t the prettiest of outings, but the hometown product felt like he still managed to do what he needed to keep the team in the game. He finished with five strikeouts, four walks, and one run allowed despite finding himself with the bases loaded on one too many occasions. Mark Melancon worked the ninth and did allow a Nolan Arenado home run, but still managed to earn his major-league leading 13th save of the year to maintain his standing atop that category.

Tucupita Marcano, Ha-Seong Kim, and Bryan O’Grady all drove in runs, as well. The first being a grounder into fielder’s choice while the latter two came of sac flys.

The Cards’ Tyler O’Neill also hit a solo home in the eighth that helped infuse some late life into St. Louis near the end. He finished two-of-four at the plate with a team-leading two runs driven in.

Game two begins at 5:40 p.m. this evening with Chris Paddack (1-3, 4.78 ERA) on the mound and he’ll be facing Adam Wainwright (2-3, 3.80 ERA).