MLB Playoff Picture 2022: Hot Takes and Top Storylines for Friday Schedule
San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove fueled his team's postseason success with a dominating performance against the New York Mets in the wild-card round and will look to do the same Friday against the Phillies in Game 3 of the NLCS.
But can he?
That question lies at the heart of hot takes and storylines to follow ahead of what could well prove to be a monumentally significant game in the series.
It is hardly the only topic to track on Friday night.
Padres Hitters the Difference Between Win, Loss
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For the most part, the difference between wins and losses in the postseason is effective pitching. The Padres know this as well as any team remaining in the playoffs. It was Joe Musgrove's brilliant outing against the New York Mets that propelled his team to the divisional round.
More on that in a moment.
The Padres, though, found out Wednesday that their World Series aspirations lean as much on their ability to hit the ball.
In Game 2 of a series they appeared to be dangerously close to being out of, the team rallied off 13 hits and scored a come-from-behind win over a red-hot Phillies squad, 8-5.
It will need to replicate that performance if it hopes to find continued success.
Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos, Rhys Hoskins and Kyle Schwarber are going to get their hits. They are going to drive in runs. They have done it all postseason long, against pitching that has been both good and porous, to the tune of 39 runs. They will do what they have to do to put their team in a position to win.
The friars will need Manny Machado, Trent Grisham, Austin Nola and the underachieving Juan Soto to do the same. They held up their end of the deal Wednesday, roughing Nola's brother, Aaron, up and avoiding an 0-2 hole in the process.
As the series shifts back to Philadelphia, in front of a crowd that will be fired up to see their boys cash their ticket to their first World Series since 2009, the Padres sluggers must keep pace.
The alternative is a long plane ride back to San Diego.
Luckily, the Phils have allowed 24 runs this postseason, an average of three per game. It is a weakness that can be exploited, and Machado and Co. will be tasked with doing just that.
Pressure Is on Philadelphia After Padres' Comeback Win
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Early in Wednesday's Game 2, it looked like Philadelphia was destined to go up 2-0 in the NLCS with a chance to sweep the Padres at home and head to the World Series, thanks to a 4-0 lead in the second inning.
The friars tacked on two runs of their own then went on a 6-1 run that stunted their opponents' momentum. It provided confirmation to the baseball world that San Diego would not be a walkover.
With the series heading to Philly, the pressure is on the home team to produce. It has its best chance to head to a World Series since their magical run in the late 2000s. Everything lined up perfectly for them. They beat the defending world champions the Braves. They did not have to run up against a Los Angeles Dodgers team that amassed the most wins in franchise history and looked to be the best team in the Majors for most of the season.
The Padres appeared to be just happy to get past the Dodgers, with the NLCS and potential World Series berth the proverbial icing on the cake. Any questions about whether that team belonged, if they were a viable contender or if they could keep up with the mighty bats of the Phils were answered emphatically with a resilient win.
The Phillies cannot afford to stumble at home. They need to win Friday and regain momentum. Otherwise, as the 100-win Mets and Dodgers found out the hard way, the Padres will roll into the World Series with eyes on a ring.
It will not be easy for Philadelphia.
As we have covered, they will get their hits, but they may be fewer and further between with Musgrove on the mound Friday afternoon.
Phillies Hitters Will End Joe Musgrove's Dominant Postseason
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Joe Musgrove pitched a beauty of a game in Game 3 of the wild-card round against the New York Mets, giving up just one hit in seven innings and completely stifling any attempt at sustained offense by the opposition. So dominant was he that Mets skipper Buck Showalter had him checked for foreign substances, certain there was something helping the righty attain the success that he did against his lineup.
The umpires found nothing, and Musgrove completed his domination of the Mets, controversy be damned.
It will be the last time the pitcher is the hero of the Padres postseason, though.
The Phillies will end his dominance Friday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, just as they ended any buzz for Cy Young consideration earlier this season, when they ran up six earned runs against Musgrove on June 23.
Their hitting has been too good throughout these playoffs to be affected to that degree by Musgrove, who gave up 154 hits in 181 innings pitched in the regular season and 22 homers to go along with it.
He gave up his highest batting average since 2019 and walked 44 hitters.
The more players he puts on base Friday, the more likely the Phils are to make him pay for it. Their postseason average is .220, on-base is .289 and their slugging percentage is .386. There will be no timidness when facing Musgrove.
What he accomplished in the Mets series might as well have been an eternity ago. This is a different series, with a fearless group of hitters who will swing for the fences and, likely, rough up the Padres pitcher in a way he has not experienced in these playoffs.
Musgrove's dominance will come to an end, and the Padres will have to hope their lineup can match Philadelphia run-for-run or mount a comeback in the same manner they did Wednesday if they wish to take the series lead.
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