Padres’ Casey Mize exits start after spraining ankle going down dugout steps

SAN DIEGO — San Diego Padres right-hander Casey Mize exited his start Saturday against the Minnesota Twins with a right ankle sprain, the apparent result of a between-innings accident.

Mize, who was acquired from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline, was going down the dugout steps after his second inning when he slipped and landed awkwardly on his right foot. The home telecast showed the pitcher wincing in the dugout before he retook the mound.

After throwing some warmup pitches under the supervision of Padres manager Craig Stammen and a team athletic trainer, Mize was permitted to begin the top of the third. With left-hander Kyle Hart getting loose in the bullpen, Mize’s first pitch that inning, an 88.4 mph sinker, registered as the slowest fastball of his career.

Three batters later, after a 10-pitch battle ended in a two-out double, Stammen and the same athletic trainer went to the mound to remove Mize from the game. Mize, who allowed three solo home runs before his injury, was charged with four earned runs over 2 2/3 innings.

It was his shortest start since April 28, when he suffered a right adductor strain with the Tigers. Mize went on the injured list the next day, returned in mid-May and went back on the IL near the end of that month because of inflammation in the same adductor. He was eventually activated June 17, weeks before the Padres traded pitching prospect Kash Mayfield to acquire the pending free agent.

Mize, 29, has made 20 starts this season, logging a 3.44 ERA, 95 strikeouts and 26 walks across 104 2/3 innings. In four outings with the Padres, the one-time All-Star has produced a 7.00 ERA. He surrendered a career-high eight runs in his debut Aug. 5.

If Mize winds up back on the IL, the Padres have limited options to immediately replace him. Joe Musgrove, who is attempting to return from October 2024 Tommy John surgery, could make a final rehab start next week, but San Diego is being cautious after Musgrove suffered what he described as a minor back injury in the weight room. Another veteran right-hander, pending free agent Nick Pivetta, is uncertain to return after suffering a flexor strain in April and a setback in his rehab earlier this month.

In addition to Mize, San Diego acquired 34-year-old lefty Robbie Ray from the San Francisco Giants at the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Ray has a 4.20 ERA through three starts for the Padres, who had navigated much of this season with one of the league’s thinnest rotations.