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Joe Musgrove Isn’t Concerned About Rough Start

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FORT MYERS, Fla. – Pirates right-handed starter Joe Musgrove had a pretty rough outing during his second appearance of Spring Training on Tuesday at JetBlue Park against the Boston Red Sox.

Musgrove, whose spring progress was set back by some shoulder discomfort, pitched four innings. The first one went about as smoothly as possible, with Musgrove setting down Boston Red Sox hitters Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi, and Hanley Ramirez in order.

After that, things fell apart from a results standpoint for Musgrove, as the Red Sox scored six runs on eight hits over the next three innings.

Maybe more troublesome than the results was the way Musgrove’s pitches hit the radar gun. His fastball was coming in around 91 or 92 mph, with his cutter just below at 90.

It’s a pretty rough combination for Musgrove, especially considering that the Pirates have just seven more tune-up games before they start to count for real. But he doesn’t seem too worried about the results.

“I just didn’t feel very consistent with my delivery today,” he said. “It’s kind of the first speed bump of the spring. Just put it behind me and watch the film tonight and then back to the drawing board tomorrow.”

“The fastball command overall was probably inconsistent,” manager Clint Hurdle added. “I thought he used his cutter very well today. Pitches were elevated at times. Only one three-ball count. No walks. There was something positive things to grab. Move on and get him back out there again to stretch him out a little bit more. The game gives you feedback.”

Their seeming nonchalantness is understandable. After all, it’s Spring Training, the Red Sox have a good lineup and Musgrove used the outing to work on some things, including his cutter, which he plans to feature heavily against lefties.

“I haven’t had the same life or the same line on my cutter as I’d like to see it and as I did last year. The velo has been down a little bit. I really wanted to work on it today. They had a lot of lefties in the lineup, so it’s a good chance for me to get some live work and against some good hitters.

“I tried to sink the ball to the glove side of the plate and run those cutters into lefties. That was kind of my main goal.”

In fact, working on his pitch mix is one of the things Musgrove really wanted to focus on this spring. But after missing time and getting behind in his throwing program, some of that has had to go by the wayside.

“It’s what spring is for,” he said. “It’s good to get in there. I got some good hitters and kind of get some honest feedback on what your stuff’s doing and what it looks like.”

The lack of velocity is a bit more concerning, but Musgrove said it was good his first time out.

“I felt good today, my ball just didn’t have anything on it. I had a hard time breaking 92 out there. But I feel good, I don’t feel like I’m hanging at all right now. I feel like I had another inning in me or two.

“I had a little bit of a setback early so the first couple outings out there I was really more concerned with how I was feeling and not trying to overdo it too much and I feel like that set me behind a little bit with the consistency in my delivery. That stuff’s gonna come. I’m not really stressed about it too much. I just wanted to be able to get out there and get my count up and build up endurance and start to fine tune things in between my starts out here.”

One thing is pretty abundantly clear after the outing: Musgrove is going to need more time. As of right now, he has two more preseason appearances scheduled. He’ll pitch Sunday against the Blue Jays in Dunedin and then he’ll pitch in some type of complex or simulated game on Mar. 30 while the Pirates have an off day in Detroit.

That would make his first realistic appearance April 4 against the Minnesota Twins at PNC Park, but Musgrove will likely have even more time than that.

Ivan Nova will start the season opener on Mar. 29. Trevor Williams, who will pitch Wednesday, is lined up for the second game of the season on Mar. 31. Jameson Taillon is scheduled to pitch the home opener on Apr. 2, so it’s safe to assume Chad Kuhl will pitch on Apr. 1. With an off day on Apr. 3, the Pirates can go right back to Nova on Apr. 4 and Musgrove won’t be needed until the final day of the first home stand on Apr. 8 against the Cincinnati Reds.

If it’s time that he needs to get caught up to speed and work on his delivery, he’ll likely have it.

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