San Diego Padres: 3 things I heard inside the clubhouse in Denver

DENVER — The San Diego Padres overcame some nasty weather and back-to-back bullpen games in the Mile High City to remind everyone that they were indeed a team that could be trouble in the final two months of the regular season.

With consecutive wins to finish off the series against the Colorado Rockies, San Diego has now won five of their last six games and entered Thursday's off day ahead of a massive series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park with a 54-55 record and 4.0 games out of the final Wild Card spot. That late push helped the Padres to become buyers at the MLB trade deadline and avoid a rumored trade that could have changed the look of the franchise completely.

Thanks to the MLB trade deadline happening in the middle of the three-game series in Colorado, there were plenty of comments about not only what was happening in the set against the Rockies, but also the potential of what could be a big push for the Padres thanks to new roster additions like reliever Scott Barlow. With all of that happening, we listened to comments while inside the San Diego clubhouse and heard some very interesting things.

San Diego Padres: Interesting comments from Colorado and our take on them

Over the next three pages, we will give you three interesting quotes we heard and some context around them that we believe is important. Let's dive in.

What San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin said about Joe Musgrove's shoulder

Musgrove was originally scheduled to pitch in Wednesday's finale in Colorado. However, soreness in his right shoulder forced Melvin to scratch Musgrove and insert Nick Martinez to kick off yet another bullpen game.

"He's been pitching through it but, at this point and time, we just don't want it to get any worse," Melvin said of Musgrove's shoulder ailment. "We'll probably end up skipping him a start. We're probably looking at the first game of the Seattle series. It's just something we want to get ahead of."

Witha. 3.05 ERA/3.54 FIP/1.140 WHIP through his first 17 starts (97.1 innings), Musgrove is a key piece of the rotation moving forward. Even though he won't be available to pitch against the Dodgers during the upcoming four-game series, if he can return healthy when the Padres open a series in Seattle on August 8, that will be a very good thing for the postseason push.

Musgrove's shoulder soreness makes San Diego's acquisition of veteran starter Rich Hill even more important. He is expected to draw a start against the Dodgers this weekend.

San Diego Padres: Juan Soto celebrates one-year anniversary with power display

It was one year ago when the Padres made a blockbuster deal to acquire Juan Soto and Josh Bell from the Washington Nationals. While in Denver, Soto celebrated the anniversary of that massive trade by showcasing his massive power abilities.

On Wednesday, Soto hit his third home run in two days with a 449-foot, two-run blast that nearly made it to the third deck at Coors Field. With that shot, Soto now has eight home runs and 23 RBI in 19 games since the All-Star Break.

"Since day one, they made me feel like I'm home," Soto said about the trade to San Diego. "I feel good right here. It's a really fun ride. I've enjoyed every moment and the ups and downs. Right now, it's good to know that I'm still here."

Yes, there were plenty of questions about if Soto would survive the trade deadline, but A.J. Preller and company kept Soto, Blake Snell and Josh Hader together for a postseason run. With Soto under team control through next season, now the question becomes how will that San Diego will be home for Soto.