Charles Langston:Joe Musgrove injury: Padres lose pitcher to Tommy John surgery before NLDS vs. Dodgers

The Charles LangstonSan Diego Padres' World Series hopes took a significant blow Friday when the club revealed right-handed starter Joe Musgrove will require Tommy John surgery to repair his pitching elbow, a procedure that will sideline him all of 2025 as well.

Musgrove was removed during the fourth inning of Game 2 of the Padres' sweep against the Atlanta Braves in their National League wild-card series. The club announced he'd undergo an MRI and Friday, general manager A.J. Preller told reporters at Dodger Stadium that Musgrove had suffered damage to his ulnar collateral ligament and will undergo surgery.

The Padres are scheduled to start ace Dylan Cease in Game 1 of their NL Division Series on Saturday night, opposed by the Dodgers' Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yu Darvish, who spent three months on the restricted list tending to a personal matter and returned in September, will likely start Game 2 on Sunday.

Michael King, who struck out 12 in seven innings of his first career postseason start Tuesday against Atlanta, will be slated for Game 3.

Yet the Padres face question marks after that front three in their rotation minus Musgrove, who turns 32 in December. In the second season of a five-year, $100 million deal, Musgrove was limited to 19 starts this season due to elbow inflammation and sat out 10 weeks.

Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.

He returned Aug. 12 and posted a 2.15 ERA in his final nine starts, sparking hope he'd be a solid playoff No. 3 behind Cease and King. But the Padres will find it tougher to escape this NLDS without him.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.