Diamondbacks 10, Padres 4: Mitch Bratt's One-Hit Gem and a Six-Run Fourth

August 5, 2026 - Phoenix - For five starts, Mitch Bratt had been the almost guy. Almost deep enough. Almost enough swing-and-miss. Almost a win.

On Wednesday at Chase Field, the almosts ran out of room.

Bratt struck out nine and allowed one hit over seven innings, and the Arizona Diamondbacks piled on for a 10-4 win over the San Diego Padres. It was the 23-year-old Canadian's first career victory, and it looked like the outing he had been building toward all year.

Seven innings, one hit, first W

Bratt (1-1) finally broke through in his sixth big-league start, setting career marks for innings, strikeouts, and hits allowed. He didn't need to be perfect against a Padres lineup that can jump any night. He needed to be boring in the best way: early outs, late swings, and a bullpen that only had to cover two innings of cleanup.

San Diego barely put a ball in play against him. When a starter allows one hit through seven, the story writes itself. When that starter is still hunting his first win, the story gets a little sharper.

The fourth that broke Casey Mize's debut

Arizona's bats did the rest. Gabriel Moreno opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the third, and four pitches later Tim Tawa launched a 414-foot shot to left-center for his sixth homer of the year. That was only the warm-up.

The fourth inning turned the game into a rout. Trade-deadline acquisition Lars Nootbaar notched his first hit and RBI as a Diamondback to start a six-run frame. Corbin Carroll added an RBI single. Moreno walked with the bases loaded to end Casey Mize's first start as a Padre after the right-hander had been acquired at the deadline.

Mize (4-7) lasted long enough to allow eight runs on nine hits with three walks and one strikeout. First starts with a new club are hard enough without the middle of the order stacking traffic that way. By the time San Diego escaped the inning, the scoreboard said eight, and Bratt still had a shutout going.

Ildemaro Vargas drove in four on the night, including a two-run double in that fourth and a two-run triple in the eighth that stretched the lead to 10. Tawa added a sacrifice fly. It was the kind of multi-inning offensive night that makes a young starter's first win look inevitable in hindsight.

A late Padres push that didn't change the math

San Diego finally got on the board in the ninth. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a solo homer, and Gage Workman followed with a three-run double. Kevin Ginkel allowed the damage before Paul Sewald recorded the final out. Four runs in the ninth makes a box score look closer than the game felt. For most of the night, this was Bratt and the fourth inning.

Arizona improved to 16-7 in its last 23 games and held the second NL wild-card spot. The Padres dropped a game in a tight wild-card scramble where every midweek result still matters in August.

AthX Engine angle

Bratt's line was worth 30 AthX Engine pitching fantasy points, second only to Noah Cameron's 31 on the full slate. Arizona finished with 19 team fantasy points, tied with Washington for the night's high. Vargas and Tawa carried the hitting board for the club; San Diego's late ninth helped the counting stats more than the result.

Track Mitch Bratt, Ildemaro Vargas, and the Diamondbacks and Padres boards on the marketplace. Information only; not financial advice.

What it means

Bratt doesn't become an ace overnight because of one gem, but nights like this are how young arms announce they belong. Arizona keeps stacking wins in a wild-card race that rewards consistency more than one-night fireworks. San Diego will get another crack soon. It will need better than one hit through seven and a starter's debut that unravels in the middle innings.

*Sources: MLB.com gameday final, ESPN recap, AthX Engine daily scoring for August 5, 2026. Information only; not financial advice.*