The San Diego Padres didn't look great in their Game 1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS. They will be looking to bounce back in Game 2, with Blake Snell taking the mound against Aaron Nola. But that doesn't mean that Padres manager Bob Melvin isn't already looking ahead to Game 3 of the series.
The Padres will be looking to pick up a needed win in Game 2 at Petco Park in front of their home crowd to prevent themselves from going back to Philadelphia down 2-0 in the series. Regardless of what the series is looking like, Melvin confirmed that he would be handing the ball to Joe Musgrove in Game 3, which could end up becoming a crucial decision depending on how this series.
Joe Musgrove will start Game 3 for the Padres, manager Bob Melvin announced.
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) October 19, 2022
When the stakes have been the highest, Melvin has turned to Musgrove early in the playoffs. Musgrove completely shut down the New York Mets in Game 3 of their wild card series, and he was the pitcher on the hill in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Dodgers who gave the offense time to finally figure things out and pull off a rally in the seventh inning of that contest.
Whichever way Game 2 goes, Game 3 is going to be mightily important. Musgrove will be called on to either prevent the Phillies from running away with the series, or give the Padres a lead after falling behind 1-0. Melvin clearly is confident in Musgrove, as he's been electric early on in the playoffs. Whether he can keep that up in Game could play a big role in determining who ends up moving onto the World Series as the National League's representative.