By Kevin Gorman
May 26, 2018
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Joe Musgrove delivers in the first inning of the team's baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals in Pittsburgh, Friday, May 25, 2018.(Gene J. Puskar/AP)
The Pirates had seen Joe Musgrove's pitching arsenal everywhere from batting practice to bullpen sessions to minor-league rehabilitation assignments.
The one place where Musgrove hadn't thrown for the Pirates was from the mound during a game at PNC Park.
So there was an eager anticipation for the long-awaited debut of the centerpiece of the Gerrit Cole trade with the Houston Astros, a debut two months later than expected because of soreness in Musgrove's right shoulder.
"I didn't have expectations," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "I just wanted to watch."
Hurdle loved what he saw, calling it a "fantastic" performance in the Pirates' 8-1 victory Friday night over the St. Louis Cardinals.
"It's exactly how I wanted to come out of the chute," Musgrove said.
Musgrove allowed five hits in seven scoreless innings, striking out seven with no walks in an outing that was as efficient as it was effective. This, just four days after he allowed six runs in five innings against Durham for Triple-A Indianapolis.
Musgrove threw strikes on 50 of his 67 pitches, first-pitch strikes 16 times against 25 batters. He retired 15 on two pitches or less, five on three pitches and had only one three-ball count.
"He was relentless in pounding the strike zone," Hurdle said. "If the first pitch wasn't a strike, the second one was."
Hurdle raved about Musgrove's pitching repertoire, from the downhill angle of his cutter and his mixing of two- and four-seamers to his slider to his changeup.
For catcher Francisco Cervelli, it was a virtuoso performance by a pitcher who split last season between the rotation and the bullpen in Houston.
"The important thing about him is he doesn't throw a pitch just because," Cervelli said. "It's got a purpose."
Musgrove pitched with a purpose, especially when he allowed runners to reach third after leadoff doubles by Dexter Fowler and Marcell Ozuna in the fifth and seventh innings, respectively.
When things got hot, Cervelli challenged him to stick with a heater that averaged 95 mph and drew 10 called strikes, two for outs.
"When they got runners in scoring position, I tended to use the breaking ball a little more," Musgrove said. "But they weren't showing me they were doing much with the fastball, so I was able to keep using it until they showed me that they made an adjustment. The night was really good for me."
It wasn't just good for Musgrove. It was good for the rest of the rotation, of which the 25-year-old Musgrove is the final piece to the puzzle.
Jameson Taillon wanted to watch Musgrove's debut from a different angle, so he tuned into the television in the tunnel to the dugout.
"To be able to watch what he was doing, it's a treat to guys like us who work to be able to do that," Taillon said. "To be able to sit back and watch a guy execute perfectly, for us, it's fun to watch."
What impressed Taillon is how sharp Musgrove's stuff was, how tight and defined he worked the strike zone.
"He uses his pitches off each other," Taillon said. "He does a good job throwing a sinker, a cutter then a bigger slider then a four-seamer. Everything compelements the next pitch. He's obviously got the premier stuff. Mix that with the strike-throwing ability and the sequencing, it was fun to watch."
Musgrove was fun to watch at the plate and on the bases, too, as he had a single off John Gant to right field in the sixth inning for his first major-league hit. Musgrove played in the AL for the Toronto Blue Jays and Astros, so he had limited experience.
But Musgrove didn't just start a three-run rally in a scoreless game. He went further, scoring on what Hurdle described as a "slide by home, tagging the plate like he's been doing it forever."
Musgrove felt like he could pitch forever and had a conversation with Hurdle about staying in the game after the seventh. But Hurdle weighed the risk-reward of extending Musgrove's work after two months of rehab.
With runners on first and third when it was Musgrove's turn to bat, Hurdle had Adam Frazier pinch hit. Gregory Polanco drew a two-out walk to load the bases, and Cervelli cleared them with a double for a 6-0 lead.
"Coming in off the mound, I told (Hurdle) I still had more in the tank, and I was ready to go back out," Musgrove said. "I think I did what I needed to do. ... I'll take the win."
It was Musgrove's first win with the Pirates, his first since getting the victory in Game 5 of the World Series last October with the Astros.
No wonder Hurdle talked about how Musgrove carried himself with "an extreme walk of confidence and delivery of confidence."
"I don't think that'll ever leave me. I'll always carry that with me," Musgrove said of his World Series win.
"That experience I gained out there has allowed me to come into a situation like this, where there will be a lot of outside noise going on about expectations. That's where I feel at home, on the mound."
With Musgrove on the mound at PNC Park, home is where the heat is.
Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.
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