A dominant out from Joe Musgrove and a timely hit by the San Diego Padres secured a 6-0 victory in a desperate Game 3 against the New York Mets at Citi Field on Sunday.
The Padres avoid elimination and advance to the National League Division Series where they will face their National League West rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers. A team that won 100 games this season but lost the lead to the Atlanta Braves late in the regular season, the Mets will have to wait until next season to satisfy their World Series ambitions.
The story of the game was Musgrove, who had the best out of the season that the Padres needed the most. He pitched a no-hitter against the Mets in front of a roaring, hostile crowd, becoming the first pitcher in a winner-takes-all game to hit his ball in seven or fewer innings.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM.
Musgrove’s final line was 7 innings on 86 pitches, 1 hit, 5 strikeouts, 59 of which were strikeouts.
He was coping so well that Mets manager Buck Showalter had umpires check Musgrove’s ears for a sticky substance. His spin rate on all pitches was also increasing, but the referee found nothing on him.
On offense, the Padres collected 10 hits and got runners in scoring position, going 4-for-11 in those situations.
Mets let umpire check Joe Musgrove for sticky substance, 4 run down, Padres take exception
First, Austin Nola, with two runners in scoring position on a 0-2 count, shorted with two outs and slapped a single to left field to give the Padres an early lead.
Then Trent Grisham, the man who has lit up Citi Field since he came to Queens, singled out two outs in the top of the fourth to center field to bring Kim Ha-sun home to make it 3-0. did.
The Mets were still struggling to redo something at Musgrove, but were unable to stop Manny Machado in the top of the fifth.
Max Scherzer allows four homers as Padres beat Mets
A valuable trade deadline win for the team, Juan Soto singled to Kim and Grisham in the top of the eighth to make it 6–0, effectively killing the spirit the Mets had left.
New York finished the game with just two baserunners as Pete Alonso scored the lone hit for the blue and orange.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Padres head to Los Angeles to face a team that dominates this season with a 14-5 record. Game 1 of the NLDS takes place on Tuesday night.