Padres' Joe Musgrove to make season debut on Saturday

San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove, who suffered a fractured left big toe in late February after dropping a kettlebell in a weight room accident, will make his season debut on Saturday, manager Bob Melvin said.

The right-hander is scheduled to pitch against the Arizona Diamondbacks, with ace Yu Darvish pushed back to Sunday.

In his second rehab start Sunday, Musgrove struck out eight in five-plus innings while throwing 69 pitches for Class A Lake Elsinore. He injured his shoulder in his first rehab start while trying to make a play in the field, and he received a cortisone shot.

«I felt good,» Musgrove said after Sunday's start, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. «A little fatigued in the toe and stuff. The shoulder actually felt really good. I'm still messing around with different wraps for the toe. A little more fatigue in that, but overall I felt good.

»… I think I can help the team win."

The Padres also are getting a boost on offense with the return of Fernando Tatis Jr., whose 80-game suspension ends Thursday.

Musgrove, who signed a five-year, $100 million contract in August, went 10-7 with a 2.93 ERA and 184 strikeouts for the Padres last season while earning his first career All-Star selection.

Entering the season, the 30-year-old right-hander was forecast for the No. 2 spot in the rotation behind Darvish.

Musgrove has a career record of 50-54 with a 3.79 ERA with the Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros in seven MLB seasons.

He etched himself into Padres lore when he threw the first no-hitter in franchise history in just his second start for San Diego, at Texas on April 9, 2021. It was in the team's 8,206th regular-season game.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.