With both rotations in some state of flux, this one was always going to hinge on which shaky arm settled in first. It didn't take long to get an answer, and it wasn't the one San Diego was hoping for.
San Diego came out swinging, plating 2 in the first and adding another in the second to open a 3-0 cushion. Mize couldn't hold it. Cincinnati answered right back with a 4-run second inning that flipped the game for good, then tacked on single runs in the sixth and seventh to put it away. A 95-degree afternoon at Great American Ball Park did the rest of the work — balls carried, and neither bullpen fully shut the door.
The Padres still have the deeper roster on paper and the better record, but this series was a reminder that record alone doesn't win individual ballgames — not with a starter still finding his footing in a new uniform. Cincinnati, on the other hand, got exactly what it needed from a reclamation project: length, no disasters, and a lineup that did the heavy lifting behind him.
San Diego heads out of Cincinnati having split this set, still keeping half an eye on the playoff picture. The Reds, at 66-73, aren't playing for much beyond pride down the stretch — but Wednesday was the kind of scrappy, come-from-ahead win that at least makes September watchable at Great American Ball Park.