Padres pour it on against Astros after Musgrove again puts them in position to win

Joe Musgrove is trying to finish strong. He is, in fact, working on completing one of the best seasons ever by a Padres pitcher.

Along the way, having already thrown the first no-hitter in franchise history, the Grossmont High alumnus just might help his hometown team to its seventh postseason berth in 53 years.

He continues doing his part, anyway. Even when he’s not at his sharpest.

Musgrove allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings, and the Padres added on late to pummel the Astros 10-2 Saturday night at Petco Park. (Box score.)

The Padres scored their first four runs in the second inning, four more on a pair of two-run homers by Manny Machado and Wil Myers in the seventh and the final two on Fernando Tatis Jr.’s two-run homer in the eighth.

“It was a good game on all sides of the ball,” Myers said. “Joe threw the ball really well tonight. Gave that run up early but locked it in. I thought we did a great job offensively.”

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The victory kept the Padres a half-game behind the Cincinnati Reds in the race for the National League’s second (and final) wild-card spot.

Saturday was the 22nd time in 27 games Musgrove, the only member of the Padres’ season-opening starting rotation to not spend time on the injured list, went at least five innings. It was just the second time in his past eight starts he did not go at least six innings.

Musgrove had started and gone at least six innings in two of the Padres’ four wins since Aug. 16. Saturday night was the seventh time in his past eight starts and the 19th time in his 27 games he has allowed two or fewer runs.

In his previous two starts, outings in which he went nine scoreless innings and allowed one run in six innings, his performance helped the Padres stop four-game losing streaks. They entered Saturday night having lost two in a row.

The Padres have now won six of his past eight starts.

“It a may be cliché or whatever,” manager Jayce Tingler said. “But it feels like he brings the best out in our team just by the way he competes.”

The big right-hander didn’t have quite the command of nor the vicious movement on his pitches that he had eight days earlier in throwing his second shutout. And he was facing the team with the major leagues’ second-highest OPS.

“I thought he got stronger — as he usually does — as the game went on,” Tingler said. “They’ve got a really tough lineup, and how he was able to navigate and get through there (was impressive).”

He threw 100 pitches and left with a runner at first base in the sixth. Tim Hill ended the inning on one pitch by getting a double play grounder from Kyle Tucker.

“To have your guy come in, one pitch and clean it up for you was huge,” Musgrove said.

Musgrove throws four types of pitches at least 17 percent of the time, the only qualifying pitcher in the majors to do so. His command and effectiveness with those pitches has helped him to a 2.87 ERA and 1.01 WHIP, numbers that rose slightly Saturday but still rank in the top 10 in the National League.

An occasional downside to his vast arsenal is there are games when Musgrove needs time to find the feel for certain offerings. There are also times he never quite finds that feel, and Saturday was one of those games.

“My stuff was just really inconsistent tonight,” Musgrove said. “From start to finish, with the breaking balls, I don’t think I found a good feel for either one of them. … It was just one of those outings where you try to compete and will your way through it.”

Three two-out singles helped the Astros to a run in the first inning, and Kyle Tucker made it 2-0 when he led off the second inning by sending an 0-1 fastball that was pretty much square in the heart of the strike zone over the wall in right-center field.

That’s when the Padres started scoring and Musgrove kept grinding, as he does so often that 11-year veteran Eric Hosmer said last week, “He competes better than anyone I’ve ever played with.”

With one out in the second inning, four straight Padres reached base against a suddenly wild Framber Valdez — Myers on a double, Adam Frazier when he was hit on the bill of his helmet by a pitch, Austin Nola on a single that scored Myers and Jurickson Profar on a single that loaded the bases.

After Musgrove struck out, Tatis grounded the first pitch he saw through the right side to bring home Frazier and Nola and give the Padres a 3-2 lead.

The lead became 4-2 when Valdez was called for a balk after making a move toward home before throwing to first base trying to chase Tatis back. That sent Profar jogging home.

Valdez then bounced a pitch into Machado before getting Jake Cronenworth to ground out.

In the seventh, a walk by Tatis preceded Machado’s 453-foot drive to the second deck of seats beyond left field, and a walk by Cronenworth came two batters before Myers’ 383-foot blast that landed in the second balcony of the Western Metal Building.

Tatis added his 444-foot shot with two outs in the eighth after Nola had walked.

Musgrove was unable to get through an inning without the Astros reaching base. He issued a two-out walk in the third, surrendered a one-out double in the fourth and a lead-off single in the fifth. He was at 94 pitches after five, though no one began throwing in the Padres’ bullpen until Musgrove took the mound to start the sixth inning.

Of the 143 times a starting pitcher has made 25 or more starts in a season for the Padres, Musgrove’s current ERA ranks 16th. His WHIP is second lowest. His .204 batting average allowed ranks third.

“It’s gone pretty well,” Musgrove said. “I’m just trying to keep it that way.”