Musgrove throws Padres' first franchise no-hitter

On Friday, the Padres threw the first no-hitter in their franchise’s history.

And it came from Joe Musgrove.

Musgrove, who was traded by the Pirates this offseason in a seven-player deal that brought five prospects back to Pittsburgh, was nearly perfect, hitting only one batter in the 3-0 win over the Rangers in Arlington, Texas. He struck out 10. 

“Part of it doesn’t seem like it’s real,” Musgrove told reporters at Globe Life Park. “It feels like it was meant to be.”

It was Musgrove's second game pitched with his hometown team. He gave six shutout innings and picked up the win in his debut against the Diamondbacks April 3.

Musgrove had long been regarded as a potential breakout candidate, and he showed the first signs of it late last season by throwing more breaking pitches and tossing 13 consecutive scoreless innings in his last two starts. It appears he's taking that next step early this year for a team that has serious World Series aspirations. 

In the early stages of a rebuild, the Pirates opted to shop Musgrove and build towards the future. The first serious trade attempt came during the August deadline last year with the Blue Jays, with the Pirates very interested in catcher Alejandro Kirk, a top 100 major-league ready prospect, in return, but the deal did not materialize. Once rumors were leaked that said the two teams were actually very close to completing the deal, general manager Ben Cherington called Musgrove to clear the air.

Instead, he was traded to the Padres this January for five players: Outfielder Hudson Head, reliever David Bednar, catcher Endy Rodriguez -- who actually came from the Mets as part of the three-team deal -- right-hander Drake Fellows and lefty Omar Cruz. Of them, Bednar earned a spot on the opening day roster after wowing in spring training, Head is currently ranked as the team's sixth best prospect by MLB Pipeline, with Cruz at 24th and Rodriguez at 27th.