# Padres Daily: Um, it’s ‘go’ time; France tie; Salas’ debut; Mize’s big innings; wasting Miller

**By:** Kevin Acee  
**Published:** 2026-09-03T13:30:39Z  
**Source:** [San Diego Union-Tribune](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/09/03/padres-daily-um-its-go-time-france-tie-salas-debut-mizes-big-innings-wasting-miller)

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San Diego Padres | 			
	
				
			Padres Daily: Um, it’s ‘go’ time; France…		

			
	
	
	

				

					

					

				

			
							

			
						Ethan Salas, the Padres’ top prospect, made his MLB debut Wednesday against the Reds at Great American Ball Park. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
		

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Good morning,

Had this been a game in June or even July, or had the Padres not been so bad in May, yesterday could be dismissed as being one of those days.

You know, an early game in a hot and muggy and nearly empty ballpark at the end of a road trip. A clunker happens sometimes.

But it is September, and the Padres just laid a couple rotten eggs against a team that is in last place in its division.
They are in a fight for their playoff lives and over the course of a 1-5 road trip lost two games in the standings and are now on the outside looking in at the National League playoff picture.

You can read in my game story (here) from yesterday’s 7-3 loss, the Padres’ seventh defeat in nine games, about how Casey Mize had another blow-up inning and the offense could not convert enough scoring chances.

“We didn’t play our best baseball, especially here in Cincinnati,” manager Craig Stammen said. “But I also think we should be thankful because somebody didn’t run away with the third wild-card spot that we’re fighting for. We’re still right there, where we want to be, in contention, and all things are on the table that we want for the rest of the season.”
				That is true.

But the Padres must play better.

They have lost four of their past five series. Three of those series losses have been against teams with losing records.

This newsletter is a place where perspective is prioritized.
				But perspective’s shelf life is close to expiring.

The reality is that yesterday was just the latest loss the Padres might end up regretting. Many more of those, and we will be talking about that regret in the present tense.

“It’s ‘go’ time,” Ty France said after yesterday’s game. “There’s nothing else you can really say about it except we need to play our best baseball now and start winning these games.”

Getting him in

Stammen did not use Ethan Salas as a pinch-hitter on Tuesday after a long travel day.

But he wasn’t looking to protect the kid all that much.

A day after being called up from Triple-A, the Padres’ top prospect made his debut as the youngest player (20 years, 93 days) in the major leagues and the youngest to catch in a big-league game in 35 years when he started yesterday’s series finale.

“I was thinking about it and looking at who we were facing coming up, and I felt there’s going to be some hype around him,” Stammen said. “He’s a very good player, very talented player. We need to get him in the game and just get that debut over with, and then he can go play baseball and be the talent that he is and help us get to the playoffs.”

Salas drew praise from Mize, caught for five different pitchers over nine innings and successfully challenged a ball call behind the plate. At the plate, he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. His first-inning at-bat produced a 390-foot fly ball to center field that was caught about five feet in front of the wall.

“It was good,” Salas said. “I mean, I thought the first two at-bats were good. I don’t like the strikeouts, but (that is) part of the game. I was just getting comfortable at this level. Just keep making adjustments every day.”

Pitching coach Ruben Niebla asked Mize on Tuesday how he would feel about throwing to the rookie.

“I said, ‘Let’s go,” Mize said. “… I’d heard some really positive things about him, so I was looking forward to working with him. He called a great game. Really impressed with him.”

It was remarkable enough that Salas was playing.

He is the youngest Padres catcher since Mike Ivie debuted in 1971 and the youngest catcher in the major leagues since Ivan Rodriguez debuted for the Rangers in 1991.

“It’s baseball, man,” Salas said. “I was trying to go in there, try to slow the heart rate down, try to be relaxed as possible. And then after the first pitch, it’s just, ‘Now we go.’ This is what I’m good at doing, and nothing has changed. It’s just baseball out there.”

Salas, who is remarkably buttoned-up when speaking to the media, smiled wide as he recalled taking just a little time before the game to soak in the moment.

“Playing catch on the field, just kind of kind of like, ‘Whoa! The stadium is nice, the stadium is big,’” he recalled. “Other than that, not really. Once the first pitch hits the mitt, it’s kind of, ‘Now we’re going.’”

Ryan Finley took a look back (here) at another highly touted young catcher who debuted for the Padres 40 years ago, which was 20 years before Salas was born.

Mize’s big innings

The Padres led 3-0 after the top of the second.

Then Mize had his big inning.

He allowed four runs on a pair of homers in the bottom of the second, and the Padres never recovered.

It was the third time in his six starts since being acquired at the trade deadline that he allowed at least that many runs in an inning.

He allowed four runs in an entire game just three times in 16 starts for the Tigers. He had not allowed four runs in an inning since July 12, 2025, a span of 28 starts before he was charged with six runs in the fourth inning of his first game with the Padres on Aug. 5.

“It’s weird,” Mize said. “I haven’t given up the big inning like that very often. Obviously been doing that here, so it’s just been frustrating to see you know walk and then single, then homer. It’s like normally … within those moments I can kind of bear down and get out of some trouble.”

After Mize surrendered a career-high eight runs in his Padres debut, he allowed two runs in six innings in his next start and threw six scoreless innings after that.

He has, however, allowed 15 runs (10 earned) in 11⅔ innings in three starts since then.

Mize said he has “definitely” acclimated to being part of the Padres after leaving the only organization for which he has ever played.

“Everybody has been great,” he said. “Everybody has been super supportive. The communication has been great. I’ve thrown to some really good catchers. Ruben has been awesome. Craig has been awesome. I like how we prepare. I like how everybody competes and everybody is all in for know one another in the dugout and everything. … All that is what leads to hurt even more when I’m not putting in a chance to win or doing what I know that I’m capable of doing.”

Mize and Robbie Ray, who was acquired from the Giants at the deadline, are the only cavalry that might ever arrive.

Nick Pivetta would seem to need at least one more rehab start if everything goes well. And it is not known when – or if — Joe Musgrove will return. I wrote about that (here) yesterday.

The same, but better

France signed a minor-league deal with the Padres in February with the intention of not only making the team but being as good in 2026 as he was during his All-Star season four years prior.

It can be argued that even though he tied his career high with his 20th home run of the season yesterday, France is actually better than ever.

“It would have been nice if we would have won,” said France, who also singled and walked yesterday. “But yeah, I mean, bouncing back from last year and being able to prove that I still belong in this league, it was a goal of mine to get to 20. So I’m happy to get there.”

In 2022, France’s 20 home runs came in 515 at-bats. He has had 367 at-bats this season. We have talked a lot about France’s renaissance, including back in May when he talked about his swing changes — or, rather, when he got back to being himself.

Long time coming

After 47 straight games as the Padres starting third baseman or designated hitter, Manny Machado sat yesterday.

“Manny needed a day,” Stammen said. “I think (with) those guys and the age that they’re at and the season that they’re having, and how our travel schedule goes, there are days where they just need a day. And we would probably plan it back in Tampa, and then chaos kind of hit, and so we had to move it to today.”

Stammen referred to Sunday’s game, a day after Luis Rengifo went down with a torn ACL. Rengifo and Gavin Sheets were placed on the injured list Sunday, and Machado served as designated hitter that day.

I posted a story (here) Saturday with Stammen and the 34-year-old Machado talking about his need for a rest after playing more than expected this season.

“A day game in Cincinnati with this heat — get him off his feet,” Stammen said. “Hopefully  refreshes him, gets him another day off tomorrow, and then he’ll be in there for the next 22.”

An epidemic

For the fourth time in nine games, the Padres popped up a bunt for an out.

This time, it was Samad Taylor, arguably their most skilled bunter. Two of the others were by Jake Cronenworth, also an excellent bunter.

“When your best bunters are having trouble, it makes you question if we should be bunting or not,” Stammen said. “So I think the biggest thing is we’ve got to practice it a little bit more. We practice it a lot already, but we’ve got to drill it a little bit more. We talk to these guys about what they’re thinking in the box, what pitches they’re trying to bunt, and then, hopefully come up with a better strategy in some of those bunt situations.”

Cronenworth also popped out in foul territory on a bunt when Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez made a running backhanded catch inches off the ground.

Before that, the Padres had popped up bunts for outs just twice in their first 124 games.

Wasted excellence

Mason Miller pitched once on the road trip and has worked five times in the past 13 days.

It seems like a long time ago that he was on pace for more than 80 appearances.

The best reliever in the major leagues pitched in 24 (43%) of the Padres’ first 56 games but has worked just 31 (37%) of the past 84 . Moreover, 17 (71%) of his first 24 appearances were save opportunities. Just 17 (55%) of his past 31 appearances have been save opportunities.

He entered a tied game three times and once while the Padres were trailing in his first 24 appearances. In his past 31 appearances, he has come in to pitch in eight tied games and twice while the Padres were trailing.

The Padres were 22-2 in his first 24 appearances and are 23-8 in his past 31 appearances.

Tidbits

Four days after starting at shortstop for the second time this season, Cronenworth started at third base for the second time this season.

France finished 6-for-18 with a home run against the Reds. He punished his former teams this year, hitting .375 with a 1.014 OPS in 59 plate appearances against the Mariners, Blue Jays, Twins and Reds.

Fernando Tatis Jr. was 2-for-4. He scored the Padres’ first run and drove in their second run. He scored and/or drove in four of the Padres’ six runs over the past two days.

Xander Bogaerts grounded into a double play after France’s leadoff single in the third inning, but he also finished 2-for-3 with a walk. Bogaerts is batting just .222 but reaching base at a .355 clip over his past 29 games.

Padres pitchers are having trouble achieving the shutdown inning. They scored in 14 innings on this road trip, and the Rays and Reds responded by scoring in the next half-inning 10 times.

I wrote yesterday that Adrian Morejón allowed two runs in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s game. It was the eighth inning. That is why I sent the newsletter a second time yesterday. I needed some of you to get the correct information without being confused by my mistake. Sorry about that.

All right, that’s it for me.

I’m on a ridiculously long layover, and I have a story to write about why it is believable the Padres can break out of another funk and finish strong enough to get to the postseason.

No game today, so no newsletter. And I am going to skip the newsletter Friday and Saturday. I need a few nights of decent sleep before the final stretch.

The next Padres Daily will be in your inbox on Monday morning. I expect that, from then on, there will be a newsletter the morning after every game until the Padres are finished.

We will have all the usual game coverage and news on our Padres page over the next few days. (If you don’t have a digital subscription, there is a sale going on that will require a commitment of $2 for two years.)

Talk to you Monday.

This post has been updated to correct when Mike Ivie debuted. 

			

		

			
						

	
		

			
	
				
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