The San Diego Padres missed an opportunity to secure home-field advantage in the National League wild-card series after an 11-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday at Petco Park.
The defeat delayed their chance to clinch the No. 4 seed in the best-of-three playoff series.
Arizona struck early, with Lars Nootbaar hitting a 403-foot leadoff home run against Padres starter Casey Mize.
Mize also surrendered home runs to Jordan Lawlar and Nolan Arenado as the Diamondbacks built a commanding lead.
Padres manager Craig Stammen acknowledged the difficulty of the matchup.
"Tough loss," Stammen said. "Faced a good pitcher tonight, and he out-pitched our starting pitcher.
Kind of the story of the game."
Despite the setback, San Diego can still secure home-field advantage with one more win or losses by the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies.
Mize's Health and Performance Concerns
The loss also highlighted concerns about Mize's health and performance.
He has been dealing with a groin injury and wears a brace on his right ankle, which he sprained in late August.
His pitching struggles have been significant since joining the Padres, with his ERA rising sharply.
"We have so much good things going on this team, and for me to be going the opposite direction is tough," Mize said.
"I'm certainly not myself.
I feel like just grinding through and trying to do what I can, but obviously it's nowhere close to good enough."
Stammen confirmed Mize might be placed on the injured list, which would open a roster spot for another pitcher in Sunday's season finale.
"A lot of guys will pitch on Sunday, most likely," Stammen said.
The Padres have largely set their post-season rotation, with Michael King expected to start Game 1 of the wild-card series, followed by Nick Pivetta and Walker Buehler.
Since early September, the Padres have won 15 of 18 games, while the Cubs and Phillies have struggled, allowing San Diego to move ahead in the standings.
Securing the No. 4 seed would have allowed the Padres to rest key players ahead of the playoffs, but the team now faces balancing rest with maintaining momentum and home-field advantage.
"I think balance is the right word," Stammen said before the game.
"You try to give them the rest that they deserve but also put a lineup out there that's going to help us win games.
Win … and we're going to be playing here at home. And I think that's a big, big opportunity for us."
