Joe Musgrove’s finger did not seem to bother him Tuesday night. He commanded his pitches well enough to generate swings and misses. That same command, though, might have contributed to the Washington Nationals fouling off nearly a third of his pitches.
Musgrove struck out a career-high nine batters in his return from the disabled list. He paid for one mistake with a two-run homer. That was enough the way the Pirates’ offense performed during their 5-1 loss in front to 17,103 at PNC Park.
Thirty foul balls drove up Musgrove’s pitch count to 96 through five innings.