PITTSBURGH (AP) — Gregory Polanco homered and the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the San Diego Padres 5-1 on Wednesday night, beating Joe Musgrove in his first start since throwing the first no-hitter in franchise history.
Polanco hit a solo shot into the right-field stands in the second inning. That ended a 32-inning scoreless streak by Musgrove that dated to last season when he was still with the Pirates.
Musgrove (2-1) allowed only one run in four innings but was lifted for a pinch-hitter after his pitch count reached to 81. He threw 112 pitches in the no-hitter last Friday against the Rangers in Texas.
Bryan Reynolds ruined Musgrove’s bid for a second no-hitter quickly when he flared a two-out single to left field in the first inning. Johnny Vander Meer remains the only pitcher in MLB history to pitch back-to-back no-hitters, performing the feat for the Cincinnati Reds in 1938.
Musgrove said all those pitches last week took their toll.
“Physically, I still hadn’t recovered from the no-hitter,” Musgrove said. “I hadn’t had that many ups and downs or that many pitches in a long time.
“I felt good coming into the game, but then I felt like I was underwater after the first inning. My arm wasn’t able to catch up to my body and I wasn’t getting extension on my pitches. I did whatever I could to keep us in the game, but I clearly didn’t have my best stuff.”
Pittsburgh wound up getting four hits off Musgrove, who struck out six and walked two. The Pirates traded Musgrove, a San Diego area native, to the Padres in January and he was facing his former team for the first time.
Tyler Anderson (1-2) gave up one run in 5 1/3 innings to get his first win with the Pirates. Signed as a free agent in February, the left-hander gave up one run and four hits with…
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