Casey Mize rocked by Diamondbacks in Padres debut

Kevin Acee, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Aug 6, 2026

Published in Baseball

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PHOENIX — The Padres on Wednesday night had a chance to get into playoff position, and they had one of the pitchers they acquired to help get them there on the mound.

It did not work out.

Casey Mize’s Padres debut was instead a step backward for his new team.

The Diamondbacks pounded Mize and won 10-4, gaining a game on the Padres instead of dropping into a tie with them for the final National League wild-card spot.

It was one start. Mize has numerous chances to redeem himself.

But his first impression was rough.

The right-hander, acquired from the Tigers on Monday, allowed more hits (nine) than in any of his previous 16 starts this season and was charged with more runs (eight) than in any of the previous 103 starts in his career.

He wasn’t the only one in brown who had a bad night.

Before scoring four runs in the ninth inning, the Padres’ offense flailed against Diamondbacks left-hander Mitch Bratt, who allowed one hit in seven innings while making it beyond five innings for the first time in any of his six major league starts or 13 starts in Triple-A in 2026.

The Padres got the leadoff runner on base in four consecutive innings and advanced only one of those men into scoring position when Jake Cronenworth stole second base.

Mize escaped trouble with no outs in the first and trouble with two outs in the second before allowing multiple runs in each of the next two innings.

He did not survive the second of those, walking off the mound after surrendering five consecutive hits and walking in a run that gave the Diamondbacks a 5-0 lead.

All three of the runners Mize left on base scored when Kyle Hart yielded a sacrifice fly and two-run double before finishing the fourth inning and working through the sixth. The Diamondbacks scored their final two runs off Griffin Canning in the eighth inning.

The Padres will hope for much better from Robbie Ray, the left-hander they got in a trade with the Giants, when he makes his first start for them Friday at Petco Park against the Astros.

They expect far more of Mize as well. He brought a 2.70 ERA into Wednesday’s game and had held the Royals to one run over six innings in his previous start.

That was July 25, because the Tigers scratched him from his scheduled start Friday as protection against potential injury before they traded him.

The rust from 11 days away from competition seemed to show right away.

Mize began the night with a walk, a single and a fly ball to the wall that moved both runners up before a strikeout and a groundout ended the first inning. Two quick outs in the second inning were followed by two singles before Mize escaped again.

But a leadoff walk, stolen base, groundout and sacrifice fly made it 1-0, and Tim Tawa’s home run made it 2-0 before the third inning was finished.

Mize’s main issue seemed to be locating his breaking pitches, which kept getting hit fairly hard — though the Diamondbacks made good on some good pitches as well.

Bratt, meanwhile, was throwing fastballs below 90 mph and looping breaking pitches that mostly had the Padres confounded.

They went down in order in the first before getting one baserunner each of the next four innings. All of those baserunners reached before an out was made.

The only hit the Padres got against Bratt was Ty France’s single in the second inning.

Their only real chance to score came in the third when Cronenworth walked and, after Jase Bowen struck out, stole second on Bratt’s first pitch to Fernando Tatis Jr. But Tatis hit a fly ball out to right field, and Luis Rengifo struck out.

Walks by Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts to start the next two innings were all they would get until Tatis’ home run leading off the ninth inning against Kevin Ginkel, who would load the bases and then give up a three-run double to Gage Workman, the utility player who joined the Padres in the same trade as Mize.

After Ginkel got the second out, closer Paul Sewald finished the game by getting Cronenworth to line out to left field.

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