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10/01 00:11 CDT Gavin Sheets' pinch-hit homer propels dominant Padres past Cubs
4-1 for 2-game Wild Card sweep
Gavin Sheets' pinch-hit homer propels dominant Padres past Cubs 4-1 for 2-game
Wild Card sweep
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) --- 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 Rodrguez escaped a bases-loaded jam.
Rodrguez 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.
Up next 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. ___ See AP's full MLB coverage here
Up next 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. ___ See AP's full MLB coverage here
