Gavin Sheets had spent most of September in a walking boot while the Padres caught fire around him, but San Diego found room for one more October swing from its injured slugger. Sheets came off the bench Wednesday night and drove a pinch-hit, two-run homer that swung Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series, pushing the Padres past the Cubs, 4-1, at Petco Park.
The blast turned a tight postseason night into a San Diego celebration and completed a two-game sweep of Chicago. The Padres will now carry their late-season momentum into the National League Division Series against Milwaukee, with Game 1 set for Saturday night. The Brewers, owners of baseball’s best regular-season record, are expected to start Jacob Misiorowski in the opener.
For Sheets, the moment came after a difficult summer spent trying to manage a plantar plate tear in his left foot. The injury limited him badly enough that the Padres saw little chance of using him in the field, and surgery remains likely during the offseason. His role, if he could get healthy enough to take it, was narrowed to the possibility of one timely plate appearance.
That possibility became the biggest hit of the night. Sheets gave San Diego the kind of jolt a home crowd remembers, and the Padres took another step forward after spending September playing as well as any club in the Majors.
Chicago never found much daylight in the series. Across 18 innings in San Diego, the Padres held the lead for 17, making their home-field advance a measure of payback after their 2025 campaign ended in a Wild Card Series defeat at Wrigley Field. Now comes a tougher assignment in Milwaukee, but these Padres have spent the past month making difficult matchups look manageable.
