The Padres took a hit on the field and another one in the bigger picture Wednesday, dropping a 7-3 decision to the Reds and learning that Joe Musgrove’s latest setback may have pushed his return into serious doubt.
San Diego is now 73-67 after the loss, a game that turned quickly once Cincinnati got into the middle of the Padres’ pitching. Casey Mize worked four innings, struck out four, and gave up four earned runs on five hits, with two of those hits leaving the yard. The Padres’ offense had its moments early - Ty France launched a two-run homer in the first, and Fernando Tatis followed with an RBI single in the second - but that was the extent of the damage.
The game also marked the MLB debut of rookie catcher Ethan Salas, and even without a hit to show for it, the day carried major significance. Salas finished 0-for-2 with a pair of strikeouts, and at 20 years old he became the youngest player to catch an MLB game since Hall of Famer Ivan 'Pudge' Rodriguez, who was 19 years old in 1991.
The standings are tight with 22 games left, and the Padres have slipped to a half-game behind the final wild-card spot in the National League. The Arizona Diamondbacks moved ahead after snapping a three-game losing streak, tightening the margin with the season running down.
The more troubling development for San Diego came away from the box score. Musgrove’s rehab process hit another snag, and with pitchers permitted to rehab for 30 days before activation and his original assignment beginning on Aug. 4, manager Craig Stammen said Wednesday that a 2026 debut is no longer a sure thing.
"Anything is on the table as far as recovery goes, and how often he pitches, and how much he pitches. So I think everything’s being reassessed on a daily basis," Stammen said. "Part of this process is just hopefully, like, keeping him going, keeping him pitching, keeping him throwing, and then hopefully that recovery timeline gets a little smaller."
There was also a missed opportunity on the roster-building front. The Padres tried to claim an All-Star outfielder who had recently been placed on waivers by the Mets, but the Orioles had priority and landed him instead.
Baltimore’s move came with a $5 million price tag, and new owners José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones approved that amount if the claim had gone San Diego’s way.
The day left the Padres with plenty to sort through: a loss, a debut, a standings race that’s suddenly even tighter, and a Musgrove situation that keeps getting more complicated.
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