It started out as a normal night when the San Diego Padres began game one of their three game series in Arlington playing the Texas Rangers. However, as would soon be seen, this game would be anything but normal as Padre’s history would be made just a few hours after the first pitch was thrown.
Joe Musgrove, who grew up in El Cajon, California – just 20 minutes from downtown San Diego – and had been watching Padres games his whole life, was the starting pitcher for the Padres in their first road game of the year. What he accomplished in this game was something that no other Padres pitcher had ever achieved in a game in their 53-year history: he threw a no-hitter. This came after 30 one-hitters in the Padres’ quest to get a no-hitter, including one no-hitter attempt that was broken up with two outs in the ninth inning.
“It feels so incredible,” Musgrove said after the game. “The city of San Diego has shown me so much love, even before I came to the Padres. Just a San Diego kid that made it to the big leagues, so it feels even better to do it in a Padres uniform and selfishly be able to do it for my city and know that the kid from Grossmont High threw the first no-hitter.”
Despite having already thrown 103 pitches at the beginning of the bottom of the ninth inning, overall, Musgrove had been pretty efficient throughout the game. Padres’ manager Jayce Tingler knew the significance of letting the San Diego native attempt to pitch the no-hitter even as the pitch count was increasing.
“I think in a way that makes it, if it can be any sweeter, any more special for him, to do it growing up in San Diego and this being his team, it’s about the perfect story written,” Tingler said. Once Musgrove began the final half-inning, it took just nine pitches to complete the game and earn the Padres first no-hitter.
In addition to this being the Padres first no-hitter, Joe Musgrove was also the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in his first or second start with a new team since 2007 and the eighth player overall to do this. He was acquired by the Padres during the past offseason from the Pittsburgh Pirates as a part of a three-team, seven-player trade.
While most of the spotlight has been on Joe Musgrove for making Padres history in throwing the no-hitter, catcher Victor Caratini also made history while he was catching the no-hitter. He became the first starting catcher in Major League Baseball history to catch consecutive no-hitters while playing on two separate teams.
“It’s pretty rare to find yourself in those situations,” Caratini said after the game. “It’s not every day someone throws a no-hitter. But Joe just had everything working. I was just really happy to be a part of it.”
