The San Diego Padres acquired Casey Mize at the deadline to help push them to the playoffs, and he's getting it done.
The San Diego Padres have been waiting for starter Casey Mize to deliver the goods since they acquired him at the trade deadline, and he’s starting to give them what they expected.
Mize’s first start was a clunker as he dealt with the travel and erratic pitching schedule that often comes with a deadline deal, but in his last two starts the right-hander has started to show that he can be a force in the Padres’ rotation. Yesterday he shut out the Cleveland Guardians on three hits for six innings, and the result was a 5-0 Padres win.
Mize had to wait out a three-hour rain delay along with the rest of his teammates, and as an Ohio native he knows that playing in Cleveland can be a little different.
“It’s tough to make it through Cleveland without weather issues, and this was a weird one,” Mize said in a follow-up piece written by Brian Dulik of MLB.com. “Every hour, I would just check in to see what was going on.
“But when I got out there, it felt normal. It felt like the game started right on time for me.”
Mize certainly didn’t waste any time getting outs. He’s known for taking a direct approach, as manager Craig Stammen noted in his comments.
“Casey went out and attacked from pitch one; that’s what he does,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “He throws a ton of strikes and tries to keep other teams on their heels.”
Mize also mentioned that bad first start in which he gave up eight earned runs to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a crucial series right after the deadline.
“After the first game, I was asked if it was an outlier -- and yes it was,” Mize admitted. “I’m certainly settling in more, and the guys gave me some runs early today to get us going.”
The view from the other dugout wasn’t fun, and Guardians Manager Stephen Vogt talked about Mize’s specific pitch mix in the shutout effort.
“The split was really good, just below the zone, and he was crowding the righties with the sinker,” Vogt said. “He really kept us off-balance. We just couldn’t get anything going.”
The view from behind the plate was positive as well, as catcher Freddy Fermin knew what to expect based on his tough at-bats against Mize.
“It’s really cool catching him because I’ve learned that he’s really good and he has good stuff,” said Fermin, who is 1-for-5 with a homer against Mize in his career. “I’ve faced him before. I know what he can do.”
