DENVER — Ha-Seong Kim did not wait for a huddle with the team trainer. He knew his day was over the second he’d jammed his shoulder on a dive back into first base in the third inning Sunday. He was in noticeable pain as he held his shoulder with his left hand and headed directly toward the Padres’ dugout.
Hours later, the discomfort persisted.
“It doesn’t feel too good at the moment,” Kim said through interpreter David Lee. “But it all happened so quickly. Not really sure as of now. Not too good.”
He added: “I definitely never had a feeling like this before and as soon as the injury happened, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to play anymore in today’s game.”
The Padres described the injury as a jammed shoulder. He will have an MRI upon returning to San Diego to determine precisely what he is dealing with.
Kim’s right shoulder was in a sling initially after dressing but he was not wearing one while later speaking with reporters in the visiting clubhouse at Coors Field.
“We’re going to have to check out the MRI images tomorrow and try to see how much damage is there,” Kim said. “But I’m just trying to stay optimistic and try to come back as soon as possible.”
Tyler Wade replaced Kim on the bases and finished the game at shortstop. Wade has started six games at that position this season. Xander Bogaerts was the primary shortstop last year before moving to second base to accommodate Kim at the more taxing infield spot. Jake Cronenworth also has ample time at shortstop in his big-league career despite not playing the position since 2022.
Padres manager Mike Shildt declined to lay out contingencies in the immediate aftermath of a 3-2 loss to the Rockies.
“I think it’s pretty early, after just getting through with a game, to address that without the information I have from Kimmy,” Shildt said. “ … Wadey did a nice job today. And we’ll take inventory and we’ll figure it out.”
Milestone watching
Joe Musgrove was perhaps a batter (Aaron Schunk) away from pitching into the sixth inning in his second start back from the injured list. Before leaving, he recorded his 1,000th career strikeout.
It had been a long time coming.
“I was aware of it; I feel like I’ve been there for months now,” Musgrove said in a nod toward all the time he’s missed this year on the injured list.
Just four seasons into his stay with his hometown team, Musgrove’s 535 strikeouts remain quite a ways off from cracking Padres’ top-10 list, as Joey Hamilton is safe for now at 639 at the bottom of that list (Jake Peavy is at the top with 1,348).
“It makes me realize how (expletive) crazy it is that Nolan Ryan’s got 5,000,” Musgrove said. “To stay around long enough in the game to be able to reach that milestone, that’s pretty sweet. I’m proud of that.”
Manny Machado’s eighth-inning home run was his 157th as a Padre, seven shy of topping Nate Colbert (163) atop the team record books. Machado passed Phil Nevin on Sunday and is four shy of Adrian Gonzalez (161) for second all-time.
Like Musgrove, Machado is well aware of the all-time Padres home run record and what it will mean to him after signing a 10-year extension in the spring of 2023.
“I’m seeing it, I’m seeing it,” Machado said. “It means the world. Obviously, I’m going to finish my career off here, so obviously it’s just a number to get to, but there’s going to be way many more. I’ve got nine years left of hitting many, many more. Obviously, it’s a huge accomplishment and it’s a great honor to reach that milestone with the San Diego Padres.”
He added: “Hopefully I break it at Petco. That’s even better.”
A timely timeout
Machado was reading the room when he called a timeout after Schunk ended a 12-pitch at-bat with a run-scoring double off Musgrove in the third inning.
Musgrove wasn’t the only one who needed the breather on a sunny, 92-degree day.
Jordan Beck was back in the dugout after scoring from first after several attempts to steal on Schunk’s eight foul balls. Musgrove’s inning had to continue.
“Yeah it was long,” Machado said. “I think everyone was kind of going out there trying to give (Musgrove) a break. Even the umpire came out there to say, ‘I needed one, too.’ A long at-bat there. I think the only one that was kind of struggling there was Beck, stealing a couple times. He was tired too. We were just trying to get (Musgrove to) just catch your breath, especially here in (the thin air of) Colorado.”
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