Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivetta rehab as Tower Buzzers Outlast Storm

LAKE ELSINORE, CA - After back-to-back series wins for the Storm against the Rawhide and Ports, Lake Elsinore returned home to start off a six-game series against the South Division-leading Ontario Tower Buzzers. In the first game of a potential playoff preview, the Storm fell 9-6 in extra innings to start off the first week in August.

The highlight of the 11:05 a.m. first pitch was that everyone at the park was getting their money’s worth with the starting pitching matchup. Both squads gave rehab assignments to major league pitchers Joe Musgrove and Tyler Glasnow. For Lake Elsinore, Musgrove pitched 2.2IP, allowed two hits and one earned run while striking out three. It was the first time Musgrove has pitched since spring training, and first regular-season game at any level since 2024. “I checked off a lot of things, physically felt great,” Musgrove said. “ Overall, I felt like I executed a lot of my pitches well. The secondary stuff wasn't quite as sharp execution-wise. The shapes felt good, but just didn't get into the spots I needed to.” He is expected to pitch again in about five days.

Glasnow exited after two innings of one-hit ball and struck out one. It took the World Series champ just 16 pitches to get through two innings. He is slated to pitch again against the Storm on Sunday.

It wasn’t just those two making rehab appearances. Padres RHP Nick Pivetta made his first rehab start since hitting the I.L. in mid-April with a forearm strain. Unfortunately for Pivetta, he might have made things worse for himself. After getting two quick outs and holding a runner on first, Pivetta threw a 2-2 fastball that missed outside, and he immediately popped off the mound in pain. Without any consolation from manager Brallen Perez or pitching coach Travis Craven, Pivetta was already in the dugout and clubhouse tunnel and exited after an apparent injury. An unfortunate outcome for an important arm in the San Diego rotation.

Offensively, the game started slow. Ontario struck first in the second on a wild pitch from Musgrove to take an early 1-0 lead. The next two innings would go scoreless before the Storm would tie things up in the fifth thanks to a run-scoring single by Qrey Lott. Through five innings, things were square at Diamond Stadium.

From then on, it became a shootout. The Buzzers plated three in the top of the sixth on a two-RBI single from Oswaldo Osorio and a run-scoring groundout from Conner O’Neal. But Lake Elsinore responded immediately with a two-run double from Yimy Tovar and then an RBI groundout from Jose Verdugo. The teams were mirroring each other each half-inning. 4-4 after six.

Ontario would take the lead once again after slugger Easton Shelton smashed a two-run blast for his 33rd long ball of the year. Shelton has been outstanding for the Tower Buzzers this year, hitting above .300 with an OPS north of 1.000.

The Storm wouldn’t give up. In the seventh, Jorge Quintana grounded out and helped score Conner Westenburg from third and cut the deficit to just one run. Then in the eighth, Lake Elsinore had runners on first and second with two outs when Lott popped up on the shallow left field grass, and no one could see it. Tovar came in and scored while Verdugo was thrown out at home, and the game entered the ninth inning tied at six.

The ninth inning went scoreless after the Storm threatened in the bottom half but left Ty Harvey stranded in scoring position. In the 10th, Ontario wasted no time once the game hit extras. With the ghost runner on second, represented by Joendry Vargas, Brendan Tunink singled up the middle on the first pitch he saw to put the Tower Buzzers in front 7-6. But in extra innings and a runner already starting in scoring position, one run isn’t enough. The Tower Buzzers added two more on a two-run moonshot from Osorio. The Storm would threaten in the bottom of the 10th with the tying run at the plate but recorded three straight outs to end game one of six between Lake Elsinore and Ontario 9-6 in favor of the Buzzers.

Lake Elsinore returns to action on Wednesday to face Ontario for game two of the six-game set from Diamond Stadium. This is the fifth series of the year between the Storm and the Tower Buzzers with Lake Elsinore leading 10-9. The Storm will send RHP Cameron Nohos (3-6, 6.31) to the mound to face off against Tower Buzzers RHP Cam Leiter (0-0, 3.53). First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. PT.

About the Lake Elsinore Storm

The Lake Elsinore Storm are the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres in the California League. For more information on the Storm, visit milb.com/lake-elsinore. For information about tickets to any of Lake Elsinore’s 66 home games, call (951) 245-4487 or email: [email protected].