After tossing the first no-hitter in San Diego Padres history Friday, donating a hat and ball to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and having a mural painted in his honor at his alma mater, only one thing could bring down Joe Musgrove from the natural high he’s been riding.

When asked Tuesday afternoon about the offseason trades by the Pittsburgh Pirates that sent Josh Bell to Washington, Jameson Taillon to the New York Yankees and Musgrove to the Padres, Musgrove’s mood turned dour a day before he faced his former team for the first time.

“I don’t know what there is I can say to make anyone feel good about it,” Musgrove said, adding that he talked with Bell, Taillon and Adam Frazier and felt they “weren’t far off from being a really good team” even after finishing with the worst record (19-41) in baseball last year.

“Before any of the trade stuff happened, we (told) the front office in Pittsburgh that we liked the group we had and we were confident in our ability to compete. We had Jamo had coming back off of surgery, which was a big piece to finish that rotation. JB was figuring things out and had shown signs of being a monster at the dish. We had a lot of good pieces. Chad Kuhl is finally coming off of his first year (after Tommy John) surgery, so he’s getting back into gear. We believed we were gonna turn into a really good team. But, you know, it’s out of my control.”

Musgrove (2-0) will pitch at PNC Park for the first time since being traded, when he faces lefty Tyler Anderson (0-2) on Wednesday night. The return trip was a bittersweet one for Musgrove, who also closed on the sale of his home in Lawrenceville on Tuesday and bid farewell to his adopted city for good.

Musgrove did say this about his three seasons with the Pirates: “The time I spent here made me a better player.”

Acquired from the Houston Astros in January 2018 as part of the four-player package in return for Gerrit Cole, the right-hander was 18-26 with a 4.23 ERA in 58 starts, including Opening Day in 2020. He went from pitching out of the bullpen for the World Series champions to starting in the rotation for the Pirates, who finished in last place in the NL Central the past two seasons.

“I learned a ton. I learned how to deal with failure. I learned how to internalize myself,” Musgrove said. “We talked about my approach this year. A lot of it comes from my performance at the end of ’19 and into last year, where, like I said, I felt like I was a leader in the clubhouse. We were struggling as a team to get wins and put games together, and I put so much pressure on myself to go out there and do everything, to be perfect and to put myself in a position where I felt like every run I gave up was three runs. It just added so much extra pressure carrying the extra weight of everyone on the team, instead of just doing my job and just focusing on myself.”

Musgrove said his comments last summer about being more selfish on the mound were misconstrued. He meant his focus needed to be on his own performance without worrying about everyone around him. That was evident in his final two starts for the Pirates, when Musgrove allowed no runs, six hits, two walks and had 21 strikeouts.

“Ultimately, the biggest impact I will have on the game is being good,” Musgrove said. “So what do I have to do to be sharp, what do I have to do to be my best, and not worry about what everyone else is doing? It might come off as selfish, and I know some people in the media last year when I said it last year, took it the wrong way a little bit. But the intent is to be my best so I can help the team.”

As much as he enjoyed the moment and the attention that followed, including a drove of customers to Caffe Adesso, his family’s coffee shop in Alpine, Calif., Musgrove’s main concern is making sure he doesn’t slip into a slump and slide in the wrong direction. That’s especially true, given he’s facing his former teammates who were cheering for him to get the no-hitter just days earlier.

“It’s so cool, to be in the history books with the Padres and not just be on the hometown team, but to be the first no-hitter in Padres history,” said Pirates lefty Steven Brault, a teammate of Musgrove’s at Grossmont High School. “I remember as a kid, we would go to games, and people would get close and it would be such a big deal, and they wouldn’t get it. So Joe getting it and being the first one is awesome.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton credited Musgrove for being “a big part” of the club’s movement to create a player-centric environment by showing leadership and earning the respect of his teammates in the clubhouse. That’s why Pirates coaches and players were rooting for Musgrove when he tossed the no-hitter Friday at the Texas Rangers.

“I think there were a lot of people in Pittsburgh, especially in our clubhouse and throughout the city, cheering for him the other night,” Shelton said. “We’re not going to cheer for him (Wednesday) night, but we were definitely cheering for him the other day. … With the exception to the days he plays against the Pirates, I will always cheer for Musgrove.”

When the Pirates played a montage of Musgrove highlights in the first inning Tuesday night, he was standing on the top step of the visiting dugout. Musgrove doffed his cap in thanks for the tribute video and the cheers from the crowd.

But for Musgrove, facing the Pirates is now just another game — even if it’s one he wants to win.

“I understand that these guys got a good look at me for a couple years, but I got a real good look at them more often,” Musgrove said. “I’ve got a good idea of how I want to pitch these guys, got an idea of how I feel they’re going to try and attack me and how they’re going to work at-bats. But ultimately it’s just another start. You can’t look too much into it. You can’t get too emotionally attached to the outing. It will be a little more fun because I’m close with all of those guys, and I know ’em personally. So, we’ll get to jaw at each other a little bit back and forth. But it’ll be a fun, competitive outing.”

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