Musgrove, who grew up in suburban El Cajon, had two stints on the injured list with right elbow inflammation this season, costing him a total of 63 games. His second stint sidelined him for 2 1/2 months.
”It would be irresponsible to get too deep into this,” Shildt said. ”He said he was going to do everything he can — I put nothing past Joe Musgrove — to be able to come back.
”Something just didn’t feel right in his elbow. Structurally they feel it is OK, but we’ll get more evaluations as we go.”
Higashioka became the first Padres catcher to homer in consecutive playoff games. He hit a solo shot in a 4-0 win on Tuesday night. He also homered for the New York Yankees at Petco Park in the 2020 AL playoff bubble, against Tampa Bay in a Division Series game. He was obtained along with right-hander Michael King in the blockbuster trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees on Dec. 7. Higashioka started the season as the backup but eventually became the starter.
Musgrove fell behind 1-0 after just three batters. Marcell Ozuna’s sacrifice fly brought in Harris, who doubled into the right-field corner on Musgrove’s first pitch and advanced on Ozzie Albies’ groundout.
After the homer by No. 9 hitter Higashioka, singles by NL batting champ Luis Arraez, Tatis and Jurickson Profar loaded the bases. Machado brought in two runs with his double to left, and Merrill tripled to center.