Padres Announce Big Pitching Rotation Change Ahead of Dodgers Series

A different face will take the mound on Friday.

The San Diego Padres have the stage set for themselves this weekend as they are coming off of a streak that has seen them take home four victories in the past five games, get a full rest day, and prepare to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers for the first time in 2023.

Everybody will be tuning in to see a rematch of last year's NLDS where the Friars came up victorious despite a clear difference in regular season success. Friday will be the first game of the series at Petco Park and it was initially revealed that Clayton Kershaw would be taking the mound for LA and Joe Musgrove for San Diego.

However, we have just received word that Musgrove has developed a foot blister and his pitching date against the Dodgers has been pushed back.

There’s an update to the Padres rotation for this weekend:

Fri: RHP Yu Darvish
Sat: LHP Blake Snell
Sun: RHP Joe Musgrove

Musgrove developed a blister on his foot after his last start, so he’s being pushed back to let it fully heal.

— Sammy Levitt (@SammyLev) May 5, 2023

"There’s an update to the Padres rotation for this weekend:

Fri: RHP Yu Darvish

Sat: LHP Blake Snell

Sun: RHP Joe Musgrove

Musgrove developed a blister on his foot after his last start, so he’s being pushed back to let it fully heal."

Even though it does hurt to see Musgrove's weekend debut pushed back to the last day, fans should still be very happy to know that he'll still be playing. 

Due to a dropped weight on his foot back in Spring Training, he's only suited in two games for the Padres thus far. He's had two forgettable outings against the San Fransisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks so he will certainly look to pick things back up on Sunday.

Here is the first pitch in Mexico City in MLB history.

The pitch was thrown by Joe Musgrove.

Musgrove is Mexican on his dad’s side, and is eligible for the Mexican National Team in the World Baseball Classic. 🇲🇽

pic.twitter.com/QZCdko5LhU

— Shawn Spradling (@Shawn_Spradling) April 29, 2023

And there are not many better options in the league to replace a talent like Musgrove than Yu Darvish. He has suited up in five matches this season for the Friars and has posted a 3.60 ERA with a 1.20 WHIP. Darvish has also already had a vintage performance against the Milwaukee Brewers where he gave up just one run and struck out 12 batters.

Darvish has been brutally honest about his time in LA so it's clear he'll be ready to roll on day one. Despite having a 2-3 record against them for his career, he averages a 2.68 ERA when facing them and 49 batters have been struck out at his hand.

Yu Darvish was asked how he's been able to have so much success against the Dodgers: pic.twitter.com/QhLMzPypQ5

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) June 22, 2021

Musgrove, on the other hand, will look to finally get his first win against LA as he's 0-6 against them for his career and has posted a 4.04 ERA.