PHOENIX -- There was much criticism directed at Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen when he did not come away with a starting pitcher while the division-rival Padres landed left-hander Robbie Ray and righty Casey Mize.
Not adding a starter meant the Diamondbacks are forced to rely on rookie left-handers Mitch Bratt and Kohl Drake, both of whom Hazen acquired at last year's Trade Deadline for Merrill Kelly, until some of their injured starters return.
It's early still, but Mize didn't provide an advantage for the Padres in his debut Wednesday night as he was outdueled by Bratt in Arizona's 10-4 win at Chase Field.
With the victory, the Diamondbacks moved into a tie with the Phillies for the second NL Wild Card spot and are now two games ahead of the Padres.
To be fair, Hazen did his best to try and acquire a starting pitcher. According to the Arizona Republic, the team had a deal with the Mets to acquire right-hander Clay Holmes, but it fell apart due to a medical issue with the player Arizona was going to send to New York.
It's also believed that the club was interested in Mize, but until Michael Soroka, Zac Gallen, Corbin Burnes and Ryne Nelson return from injury, they will continue to hand the baseball to Bratt and Drake.
That wasn't such a bad option Wednesday.
In his sixth Major League start, Bratt befuddled the Padres' lineup and was in complete command, allowing just one hit over seven innings for his first Major League win.
"It's great," Bratt said. "It's a surreal feeling, to be honest. I don't think it's going to sink in for quite some time. But just thankful for [catcher James McCann] and thankful for everybody that's been a part of this journey to get to this point."
Bratt came into the game with a 5.23 ERA and had not pitched into the sixth inning in any of his five starts. A large part of that was because of his command -- he had 15 walks to 12 strikeouts -- but it was a different story this time.
The 23-year-old struck out nine, while walking three. The last age-23 or younger pitcher to throw seven-plus innings with one or fewer hits allowed and nine-plus strikeouts in a game was the Pirates' Paul Skenes on July 11, 2024.
"Pretty special night for Mitch," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "Got his first Major League win against that type of an offensive team. Seven super clean innings, one hit. A lot was going right for him."
Both Bratt and Lovullo credited the work done by McCann behind the plate, citing times when Bratt threw a breaking ball when hitters appeared to be looking for fastballs.
Bratt's fastball registers in the low 90s, but the way he mixed his pitches clearly had the Padres off balance.
“For whatever reason, what he was throwing up there wasn’t matching our hitters’ swings and our eyes,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “His fastball was getting on us. It was a lot harder than what the scoreboard said it was.”
The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, scored a pair of runs off Mize in the third inning and then chased him in the fourth when, with one out, they strung together five straight hits and a walk in a six-run inning that put the game away.
Lovullo wasn't going to touch the comparison between the Padres starting a much-hyped acquisition against a rookie on a team that did not manage to add an arm.
"Mize has been a very good pitcher for a long time, and he just didn't have a good night," Lovullo said. "It wasn't his night and we were counterpunching, and we were able to get to him a little bit. So that's all I want to say about that. The comparison there -- traded guy versus non-traded guy -- I don't want to talk about that. I just want to talk about what our guy was capable of doing."
Bratt walked off the mound to a standing ovation after the seventh knowing that his night was done.
"I couldn't feel my legs, to be honest with you," Bratt said. "I was so fired up."