JOE MUSGROVE

New York (51-18) boasts the best record in the majors, and Houston (43-25) is second to the Yankees in the AL standings. Álvarez is tied for second with 21 after launching three in a two-game sweep of the New York Mets at home. WELCOME BACKJoe Musgrove (8-0, 1.59 ERA) comes off the COVID-19 injured list to start for the San Diego Padres against Bryce Harper and the visiting Phillies. Harper returned to the lineup Wednesday at Texas after missing three games with an infected blister on his left index finger. San Diego swept a three-game series from Arizona without All-Star slugger Manny Machado, who sprained his left ankle last weekend.

American League powerhouses square off when Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees host Yordan Álvarez and the Houston Astros in the opener of a highly anticipated four-game series Thursday night.

The 29-year-old Musgrove has allowed just one earned run in 27 innings over his last four starts. He's struck out 71 in 54 1/3 innings. The team's 13-game home winning streak is its longest since taking 13 straight at the old Yankee Stadium in 1973. STREAK ON PAUSEAustin Riley and the Braves enjoy a day off before trying to extend their 14-game winning streak Friday in Chicago against the Cubs. Atlanta is riding its longest streak since a 14-game run in 2013 and is one victory from tying the franchise’s post-1900 record, a 15-game winning streak early in the 2000 season.

Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove takes a 47-47 career record over seven seasons into this start at Wrigley Field.

Manny Machado lined a single for his 1,500th hit and hit a two-run homer in a four-RBI night to help the San Diego Padres beat the reeling Chicago Cubs 19-5.

Rockies Padres Baseball San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove works against a Colorado Rockies batter during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, June 10, 2022, in San Diego. But he's been one of the best pitchers in the majors this year, going 7-0 with a 1.50 ERA in 11 starts. The 29-year-old Musgrove has allowed just one earned run in 27 innings over his last four starts. Ohtani (4-4, 3.64 ERA) is coming off seven impressive innings in a win over Boston. HADER AWAYMilwaukee Brewers closer Josh Hader has been put on the paternity list and is expected to miss three days.

Padres general manager A.

Padres Brewers Baseball San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday, June 3, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) (Morry Gash)MILWAUKEE — (AP) — Joe Musgrove of the San Diego Padres lost his bid for another no-hitter with two outs in the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers. Musgrove has thrown the only no-hitter in Padres history. After Wong's double, Musgrove stayed in and got the last out in the eighth with his career-high 114th pitch. Musgrove entered the night with a 5-0 record and a 1.86 ERA that ranked fourth in the National League.

Padres Brewers Baseball San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Friday, June 3, 2022, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) (Morry Gash)MILWAUKEE — (AP) — San Diego’s Joe Musgrove has held the Milwaukee Brewers hitless through seven innings as he bids for his second no-hitter in as many seasons. Musgrove has thrown 98 pitches, putting him 10 away from his season high. Musgrove has thrown the only no-hitter in Padres history. Musgrove hit former Padres teammate Victor Caratini with a pitch in the third inning, walked Rowdy Tellez in the fifth and issued consecutive walks to Kolten Wong and Pablo Reyes in the sixth.

Joe Musgrove of the San Diego Padres has lost his bid for another no-hitter with two outs in the eighth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Manny Machado hit a tiebreaking double in the 10th inning and the San Diego Padres won in manager Bob Melvin’s return, holding off the San Francisco Giants 8-7.

Ha-Seong Kim had a run-scoring double to give San Diego the lead in a four-run 11th inning and the Padres beat the Atlanta Braves 7-3.

Marcell Ozuna homered and Austin Riley hit a tiebreaking double during a four-run rally in the eighth inning that lifted the Atlanta Braves to a 6-5 victory over the San Diego Padres.

Jorge Alfaro's pinch-hit, three-run home run with two outs in the ninth gave the San Diego Padres a 3-2 win against his former team, the Miami Marlins.

Joe Dunand, the nephew of Alex Rodriguez, homered on the third pitch he saw as a big leaguer and then doubled as the Miami Marlins beat the San Diego Padres 8-0 to end a six-game losing streak.

Braves Padres Baseball San Diego Padres' Manny Machado reacts after hitting two-run home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Thursday, April 14, 2022, in San Diego. Abrams hit his first homer for San Diego, which routed the Braves 12-1 in its home opener Thursday night. It came a year and five days after Musgrove threw the first no-hitter in franchise history, at Texas in his second start with the Padres. Musgrove held the Braves to four hits, struck out six and walked none. Voit hit a two-run single in the sixth.

Joe Musgrove pitched 6 2/3 brilliant innings for his hometown Padres against defending World Series champion Atlanta, Manny Machado homered for his career-high fifth hit and rookie C.

The San Francisco Giants missed a chance to clinch the NL West, falling to the San Diego Padres 3-2 when Jake Cronenworth hit an RBI double in the 10th inning.

Darin Ruf hit a first-inning home run and Mike Yastrzemski added an RBI single to send San Francisco on its way, and then the Giants waited on Los Angeles' result against the NL Central champion Brewers. A Dodgers loss would ensure San Francisco the division crown outright over the eight-time defending West winners and reigning World Series champions. San Francisco went through a quick congratulatory handshake line on the diamond.

Kevin Gausman returns to the mound — and plate — as he tries to help the Giants protect their lead in the NL West.

Kevin Gausman returns to the mound -- and plate -- as he tries to help the Giants protect their lead in the NL West.

Buster Posey homered in the first inning and scored the go-ahead run on an error in the third, and the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres 6-1 for their ninth straight victory a day after becoming the first team in the big leagues to clinch a playoff berth.

Milwaukee ace Corbin Burnes combined with reliever Josh Hader to pitch baseball’s record ninth no-hitter this season, breaking a mark set when pitchers began throwing overhand in 1884 as the Brewers beat the Cleveland Indians 3-0.

Julio Urías pitched seven shutout innings for his major league-leading 17th victory, Max Muncy slugged a two-run homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 3-0 to snap a two-game skid.

Tyler O’Neill hit a tiebreaking homer, Cardinals relievers combined for five scoreless innings, and St. Louis salvaged a split of its four-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 2-1 win.

Minnesota Twins rookie Joe Ryan is pitching a perfect game through six innings against the Cleveland Indians in just his second major league start.

San Diego Padres left-hander Blake Snell made another bid at a gem and this one didn’t end so well when Jo Adell hit a two-run single with two outs in the seventh inning to help the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-0 victory.

Angels Padres Baseball San Diego Padres starting pitcher Blake Snell works against a Los Angeles Angels batter during the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) (Gregory Bull)SAN DIEGO — (AP) — Left-hander Blake Snell of the San Diego Padres took a perfect game into the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels before walking two batters and allowing a two-out, two-run single to Jo Adell on his 96th pitch. Joe Musgrove began the no-hit parade this year, pitching the first no-no in San Diego history in his second start for his hometown team. Snell retired the first 18 batters Tuesday night before walking David Fletcher leading off the seventh. In his previous start, Snell threw a career-high 122 pitches in 7 2/3 innings and got a no-decision in San Diego’s 5-3, 16-inning home loss to the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Baltimore Orioles are nine outs away from finishing a record ninth no-hitter in the majors this season in a game at Yankee Stadium.

Blake Snell threw seven hitless innings before being pulled for a reliever, and San Diego lost its bid for a combined no-hitter in the eighth inning when Arizona’s David Peralta dropped a bloop single into shallow left field in the Padres' 3-0 win.

The San Diego Padres had their no-hit bid broken up in the eighth inning on Tuesday night when Arizona’s David Peralta had a bloop single fall into shallow left field.

Max Scherzer pitched 7 2/3 dominant innings to win his eighth straight decision, Austin Barnes hit a two-run home run off Yu Darvish and the surging Los Angeles Dodgers beat the plunging San Diego Padres 4-0 for a three-game sweep.

AJ Pollock led off the 16th inning with a two-run homer and the streaking Los Angeles Dodgers beat the struggling San Diego Padres 5-3 in by far the longest major league game since pandemic rules were implemented last year.

Tyler Gilbert is just the fourth pitcher ever to throw a no-hitter in his first big league start.

Diamondbacks rookie Tyler Gilbert has thrown seven hitless innings in his first big league start against the San Diego Padres.

The Philadelphia Phillies are six outs from completing the eighth no-hitter in the majors this year, which would be the most in a season since 1900.

Framber Valdez and the Houston bullpen took a no-hit try into the eighth inning and Astros beat Texas 4-1, sending the Rangers to their season-worst 11th straight loss.

The teams were to play the regularly scheduled game later in the day. Fernando Tatis Jr. had his third four-hit game of the season and scored twice for the Padres, and Tommy Pham had three hits and two walks. The game was halted Saturday night with the Padres leading 8-4 in the middle of the sixth inning. Nationals starter Patrick Corbin (6-8) gave up six runs on 10 hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings. All-Star Game starter Max Scherzer (7-4, 2.66) is looking to bounce back after allowing a season-high seven earned runs against the Padres on July 8.

Four San Diego relievers combined to toss four scoreless innings and the Padres defeated the Washington Nationals 10-4 in the completion of a game that was suspended the previous night because of a shooting outside the stadium.

San Francisco right-hander Kevin Gausman had his no-hit bid ended by St. Louis slugger Nolan Arenado’s one-out single to left.

Kevin Kiermaier broke up a combined no-hit bid by the Boston Red Sox with a one-out double in the eighth inning and Manuel Margot scored on a wild pitch in the ninth to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 1-0 victory.

Dodgers Padres Baseball San Diego Padres' Victor Caratini (17) hits a solo home run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday, June 23, 2021, in San Diego. San Diego is 7-3 this season against the Dodgers, including winning four straight, and has won two of the three series against the eight-time defending division champions. The Dodgers swept the Padres in the NL Division Series in October en route to winning the World Series. San Diego has won seven straight games overall, including a four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, after losing 13 of their previous 17 games. This was San Diego’s first sweep of the Dodgers since April 15-17, 2013, at Dodger Stadium.

Trent Grisham drew a go-ahead, bases-loaded walk with one out in the eighth and the San Diego Padres hit three solo homers off Trevor Bauer and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-3 for their first three-game sweep of the NL West rivals in eight seasons.

Jake Cronenworth and rookie Kim Ha-seong homered off Clayton Kershaw, Blake Snell pitched five scoreless innings and the San Diego Padres got their third straight win against the rival Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-2.

Maikel Franco hit a two-run homer with one out in the eighth inning, denying the Houston Astros in their attempt to throw a combined no-hitter at Baltimore.

Walker Buehler has pitched seven hitless innings for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the slumping Arizona Diamondbacks.

Victor Caratini hit a two-run, game-ending homer two batters after Eric Hosmer hit a tying, two-run homer for the San Diego Padres, who beat the Cincinnati Reds in a 6-4 thriller before the first sellout crowd at Petco Park since 2019.

Braves starter Charlie Morton has not allowed a hit through six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.

No doubt every New York Mets fans shuddered when they heard the news that star pitcher Jacob deGrom was pulled from his latest start with an elbow injury.

Giants Nationals Baseball Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer, center, stands on the mound as a trainer comes to check on him during the first inning of the team's baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Friday, June 11, 2021, in Washington. Scherzer got Giants leadoff hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. to fly out for the first out of the game. Washington manager Dave Martinez and trainer Paul Lessard went out to the mound to check on Scherzer after he threw a 96 mph fastball that made the count 3-2 on Brandon Belt. Scherzer got down and squatted, then stretched from side to side before throwing one pitch in front of Martinez and Lessard. UNBEATENRight-hander Kevin Gausman (7-0) is unbeaten in 12 starts and takes an NL-best 1.27 ERA into his outing for the San Francisco Giants at Nationals Park.

Jacob deGrom kept up his dominance of major league hitters, striking out 11 over seven innings and pitching the New York Mets past the high-powered San Diego Padres 4-0.

Padres left-hander Blake Snell lost a no-hit bid with no outs in the seventh inning when New York Mets star Francisco Lindor lined a clean single to left field.

Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta is celebrating his 25th birthday with a no-hit bid through six innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The major league batting average rose slightly in May, though it remained at its lowest level in 53 years.

St. Louis’ Carlos Martinez has a no-hitter through six innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Corey Kluber threw the major leagues’ sixth no-hitter this season and second in two nights, leading the New York Yankees over the Texas Rangers 2-0.

New York Yankees right-hander Corey Kluber has not allowed a hit through seven innings against the Texas Rangers.

Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the valid one: The number of hits per game in the major leagues has plummeted, so no-hitters are on the rise.

Spencer Turnbull pitched the fifth no-hitter in the majors already this season, sending the Detroit Tigers to a 5-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

Cardinals Padres Baseball San Diego Padres' Manny Machado (13) is congratulated by Austin Nola (26) as he scores during the third inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, May 14, 2021, in San Diego. Musgrove (3-4) had lost four decisions in five starts since pitching the first no-hitter in Padres history at Texas. San Diego had only four hits but drew 12 walks against five Cardinals pitchers. The Padres beat the Cardinals 2-1 in the wild-card round last season before being swept in the NL Division Series by the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Musgrove loaded the bases again in the sixth but all the Cardinals got out of it was a sacrifice fly by Molina.

Joe Musgrove got through five innings for his first victory since throwing a no-hitter on April 9, and San Diego beat St. Louis 5-4 in the first meeting between the teams since the Padres eliminated the Cardinals from the playoffs last year.

Baseball is swinging and missing.

Fernando Tatís Jr. scored on Eric Hosmer’s sacrifice fly in the 11th inning and the San Diego Padres rallied from a late six-run deficit for an 8-7 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.