Peavy exhorts; Musgrove responds with zeros

SAN DIEGO -- Thirty minutes before first pitch on Friday night, an emotional Jake Peavy stood behind home plate and spoke to a sold-out Petco Park. The legendary Padres right-hander, perhaps the greatest starting pitcher in franchise history, spoke from the heart, thanking the fans who adored him for so long – and still do. Then, in closing his Padres Hall of Fame induction speech, Peavy asked those fans to believe.

“I know it all hasn’t went well this year,” said Peavy, who was inducted alongside longtime owner John Moores on Friday night. “But we’re on a great trajectory here in San Diego. … Let’s stay positive. Let’s stay behind this team. Let’s talk about a World Series title, so that we can fill these streets and have that World Series parade that we’ve all been dying for.”

? Peavy, Moores join Padres Hall of Fame

After a thunderous ovation, Peavy exited stage left. His podium was disassembled. The chairs surrounding home plate were removed. The Padres took the field. And, behind the pitcher who wears No. 44 in Peavy’s honor, they made those lofty dreams feel, at the very least, possible.

Behind six scoreless innings from Joe Musgrove, the local kid who grew up with Peavy as his favorite player, the Padres thumped the first-place Rangers, 7-1.

“Obviously Peavy’s night and Moores’ night, and I was throwing in front of [Bruce] Bochy for the first time in my career,” Musgrove said. “A lot of San Diego legends in the house. I was really motivated.”

In addition to Musgrove’s heroics, Fernando Tatis Jr. hit an opposite-field home run. Juan Soto reached three times. Manny Machado knocked in three and made a diving play that, even by his standards, qualified as purely ridiculous.

It was a show of force from a team that, frankly, has done this before. The Padres have tantalized somewhat regularly. They have a roster full of superstars, after all. On occasion, they’ve meshed and produced nights like this one. They just haven’t done it often enough.

“It’s just consistency,” Tatis said. “... This is what we’re capable of.”

The reality of the Padres’ situation remains harsh. Assembled with the stated goal of taking home the franchise’s first World Series title, they sit 50-54, fourth place in the National League West, six games separating them from a playoff spot. They insist they’re talented enough to close that gap.

But another factor gnaws at that proposition. The Trade Deadline looms, and no one seems to know whether the Padres will buy or sell (or both).

There’s at least a case to be made for selling. The Padres’ odds of missing the postseason are better than their odds of making it. Given the league-wide transactions of the past few days, it’s a seller’s market. If the White Sox can get two very good prospects for a middle-of-the-rotation starter and an OK reliever, what can the Padres get for Blake Snell and Josh Hader -- a Cy Young favorite and one of the game’s best relievers?

But that’s a question for the front office. In the meantime, entering play Friday, the Padres had four games to make a case otherwise.

“We’re all concentrating on trying to make sure that we’re not in a position where anybody gets moved,” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “We’re kind of right on that cusp. But I think our guys try to stay away from reading too much about it. We’re just trying to get on a roll here and play good baseball to where we’re all together for the entire season.”

Musgrove did his part. In his final inning, the Rangers, trailing by three, put two men in scoring position. Musgrove had reached 103 pitches, and pitching coach Ruben Niebla emerged from the dugout. The entire infield convened for a meeting.

Musgrove’s next pitch was a curveball to Robbie Grossman, who popped harmlessly to right. A fraction of a second after the ball left Grossman’s bat, Musgrove let loose a scream. He swaggered and stomped toward the dugout.

Years ago, another right-hander who wore No. 44 used to do stuff like that. Peavy would go on to win a pair of World Series elsewhere. But he makes it clear how badly he wants to see one here.

And, hey, if the Padres can play like this on the regular …

“That’s the kind of baseball we’ve got to play down the stretch,” Musgrove said. “I told the guys after the game: ‘We’ve got two months left here to determine our future for the rest of the season. If we’re going to go out, we’ve got to go out on our terms.’”