One year ago today, Joe Musgrove became No-No Joe

Going into the San Diego Padres April 9 matchup against the Texas Rangers one year ago today, I’m sure fans were just excited to see their hometown kid, Joe Musgrove, pitch again in the brown and gold. After all, Fernando Tatis Jr. wasn’t even in the lineup that night because he was on the IL after dislocating his shoulder during the first homestand of the season.

A no-hitter had never been thrown by a Padre in franchise history so why should we have expected one to happen? By the end of that night, though, a no-hitter had been thrown by a Padre. And Musgrove did it.

I was keeping score of the game in my scorebook watching the game on the couch. I didn’t even realize what was happening until probably the sixth inning. All I cared about before noticing Musgrove hadn’t allowed a hit yet was that the Padres were winning.

Wil Myers doubled in the first run in second inning. Later in that same inning Tommy Pham hit a sac fly to drive in the second run and Manny Machado doubled in the third run one inning later. That would be more than enough run support for Musgrove that night.

I don’t exactly remember when I became superstitious about the potential of a no-hitter happening but when I did, I stayed in the exact same spot on the couch for the rest of the game until Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit that grounder to Ha-seong Kim at shortstop. Then the celebration was on.

Today is a special day to remember and we can thank Joe Musgrove for that.