By admin 
The cars began showing up at 5 a.m., crowding the small lot that Caffé Adesso shares with a Shell station off Tavern Road and Interstate 8 in Alpine.
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The bleary-eyed commuters couldn’t help but notice that October had arrived early at the Musgrove family’s coffee shop.
Orange and brown leaves and fall-themed wreaths adorned the exterior walls of the cozy cafe. Pumpkin pie lattes, candy corn lattes, witch’s (cold) brews and phantom frappes were on the menu. The drive-thru window’s tip jar was jet black with white ghosts painted on the side.
Another sure sign of fall: Joe Musgrove is pitching in the playoffs.
One of the Padres’ all-time postseason heroes returned to the roster Tuesday after nearly two years away, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in the Padres’ 8-0 Wild Card Series win over the Chicago Cubs.
That many fans will remember it as The Joe Musgrove Game – on a night when Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado hit first-inning homers, Michael King threw 6 ⅓ no-hit innings and Tatis scored from first base on a steal attempt – speaks to the bond between the right-hander and Padres fans.
“It’s his dedication, his love of the city,” said longtime Padres fan Larry Carpa, an Escondido resident who wore a giveaway Musgrove basketball jersey to Wednesday’s Game 2. “I think he enjoys being a star in his hometown. He not only plays for himself, but he plays for the fans.”
Larry Pierce, who sat next to Carpa in Section 202, said Musgrove being from San Diego “makes it a big deal.”
Musgrove was born in El Cajon and attended Grossmont High School, where a mural of the right-hander now adorns a wall on campus.
Musgrove got an interlocking “SD” tattooed on his arm at age 18, even when his baseball career pointed toward a career with one of baseball’s other 29 teams. He lived in various San Diego neighborhoods during his first big-league offseasons, picking different neighborhoods to explore.
When the Padres acquired Musgrove from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a January 2021 trade, the hometown boy had no reason to leave.
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And San Diegans had a hometown hero to call their own.
Of course, Musgrove isn’t just your favorite Padres fan’s favorite Padre. He might be your favorite Padre’s favorite teammate, too.
Jason Adam called Musgrove’s debut “maybe my favorite moment of the year so far.”
King admitted to getting “emotional” as Musgrove closed the door.
He wasn’t the only one wowed by the scene.
“Yeah, nuts,” Musgrove’s sister, Terra, said late Tuesday. “I think (the reception) was exactly what he needed to hear.”
Now, Musgrove is no mascot, and the playoffs are no place for feel-good stories that lack substance.
Performance is everything. And many in the Padres organization have a real belief that Musgrove can be a force out of the bullpen this fall. He touched 97 mph on Tuesday, working around a bases-loaded, one-out jam to preserve the shutout win.
For years, he was the Padres pitcher you wanted on the mound in the playoffs.
Musgrove eliminated the New York Mets from the wild-card round in 2022, a co-ace on the “Dragon Slayers” Padres team that advanced to the National League Championship Series. His last outing before Tuesday took place during the 2024 Wild Card Series, where he pitched 3 ⅔ innings, allowing one run, before leaving with an elbow injury that required reconstructive surgery.
Musgrove has a 2.70 ERA in five playoff appearances for the Padres, striking out 24 and walking seven. The ERA is over one run-per-game lower than his career mark of 3.90 ERA.
Yes, the Padres have employed plenty of clutch playoff pitchers, from Eric Show to Kevin Brown to Yu Darvish.
But no one connects with San Diego quite like “No-No Joe.”
“San Diego looks at everybody else (who) is coming in (knowing) they’re only going to be here for a while,” said Pierce, wearing a sand-colored Musgrove jersey of his own. ” … Here’s a hometown boy. He’s got a no-hitter. He’s a good guy.”
Annie Heilbrunn contributed to this story.
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This story was originally published September 30, 2026 at 6:58 PM.