Rockies, Padres Pitchers Played Tic-Tac-Toe on the Mound During Game

The two former Pirates teammates ended their pitching mound game in a tie.

Former teammates Joe Musgrove and Chad Kuhl had a bit a fun on the pitching mound during their Padres vs. Rockies game on Friday night.

The two pitchers were teammates on the Pirates from 2018–20. In this reunion game, Musgrove decided to start a game of tic-tac-toe on the pitching mound.

With his cleat, the Padres pitcher drew the tic-tac-toe board in the first inning and declared himself “X’s” for the game. In the next inning, Kuhl added an “O” to the board.

Neither player won the tic-tac-toe game as they strategically placed their letters on the board.

Joe Musgrove vs. Chad Kuhl went beyond the pitching matchup Friday night.

They squared off in a game of tic-tac-toe on the mound as well 😂👏pic.twitter.com/ezgC7uDGmB

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 11, 2022

Musgrove said after the game that it was his idea and he decided not to tell his former teammate about the game.

“I didn’t tell him about that,” Musgrove said, via MLB. “I just got out there and figured it would be fun, trying to keep it light. I love Chad. … I know we’re both a little nervous going out there and facing each other, so I was just trying to have some fun and mess around a little bit.”

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Kuhl appreciated his former teammate’s fun game.

“Kind of cool, just something different,” Kuhl said. “I didn’t expect it, went out there – just one of those things. It’s just fun to kind of compete against each other.”

In terms of the pitching duel, Musgrove won that battle as the Padres shut out the Rockies 9–0 at home. 

Musgrove pitched six innings totaling eight strikeouts, two walks and did not allow any earned runs. Kuhl pitched 4.1 innings totaling one strikeout, five walks and allowed five earned runs.

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