Gavin Sheets' pinch-hit homer propels dominant Padres past Cubs 4-1 for 2-game Wild Card sweep

SAN DIEGO — Pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets blasted a two-run homer, five Padres pitchers combined on a five-hitter, and San Diego swept the Chicago Cubs out of the NL Wild Card Series with a 4-1 victory in Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Xander Bogaerts drove in the first run for the surging Padres, who followed up their 8-0 victory in Tuesday's opener with another dominant mound performance. The Cubs led the majors in runs and the NL in homers this year, but they managed just eight hits — seven singles — over 18 innings against San Diego's inspired staff.

Ethan Salas drove in a run while becoming the youngest player to catch a postseason game in major league history for the Padres, whose 20-3 surge since Sept. 5 has them looking like a threat in the NL.

One year after the Cubs eliminated the Padres in three tough Wild Card games at Wrigley Field, the Padres reversed the result in two romps before frenzied sellout crowds at Petco Park.

With their fifth playoff series victory in the past seven years, the Padres advanced to face the MLB-best Milwaukee Brewers in an NL division series this weekend.

Nico Hoerner had half of the Cubs' hits in the series, and he drove in Chicago's only run in the fourth inning. He also got their only extra-base hit of the series with a ninth-inning double off Mason Miller, but the Padres' vaunted closer calmly finished the save and set off another massive celebration on the field.

Probable NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong and veteran slugger Alex Bregman struggled mightily atop the Cubs' lineup in San Diego, going a combined 0 for 15 with a walk and eight strikeouts over these two games. Bregman played just over a week after he was hit in the face with a foul ball.

After hitting two homers in the first inning of Game 1, the Padres waited until the second inning of Game 2 to take a 2-0 lead. Ty France led off with a double off Kevin Gausman and scored on Bogaerts' single before Salas hit a line-drive flyout to center, scoring Jackson Merrill.

Salas, the prized 20-year-old prospect recalled Sept. 1, also became the youngest player to appear in a postseason game for the Padres.

Chicago finally scored when Seiya Suzuki singled and eventually came home on Hoerner's ground ball to center off starter Nick Pivetta. Rookie manager Craig Stammen immediately yanked Pivetta in favor of his intimidating bullpen, and Bradgley Rodríguez escaped a bases-loaded jam.

Rodríguez also pitched the fifth to earn the victory in his postseason debut.

After Bogaerts' double chased Gausman in the fourth, Sheets blasted a 100.8 mph fastball from Daniel Palencia into the right-field bleachers. Sheets, the fan-favorite outfielder who is playing with a nagging plantar injury in his left foot, delivered his second career postseason homer and his first since 2021 as a White Sox rookie.

The shot was the Padres' first pinch-hit postseason homer since 2005, and their long-suffering fans' cheers rattled the park.

Game 1 of the division series is Saturday in Milwaukee. The Padres took four of six from the Brewers this season, even sweeping a three-game series at Petco Park in August.

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