Gavin Sheets ripped a pinch-hit, two-run homer and the San Diego Padres clinched their National League wild-card series with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Chicago Cubs on Wednesday in Game 2.
The Padres’ bullpen combined to give up two hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings as fourth-seeded San Diego swept the best-of-three series with consecutive victories. Xander Bogaerts had two hits and an RBI while Jackson Merrill and Ty France each registered two hits and a run for the Padres.
San Diego advances to play the top-seeded Brewers in a best-of-five NL Division Series that begins Saturday in Milwaukee.
Padres manager Craig Stammen, looking ahead to the NLDS, noted that his team went 1-5 against the Cubs in the regular season while finishing 4-2 against Brewers.
“It’s going to be a tough series,” Stammen said of opposing the major-league-best Brewers. “The regular season is out the window. As we saw, the Cubs kicked our butt in the regular season, and we were able to handle them for two games. Anything can happen in a short series. They’re going to be a tough opponent. Every game that we played with them was really close in the regular season.”
Nico Hoerner had two hits for the Cubs, including an RBI single for the team’s lone run in the series. Chicago led the majors with 850 runs in the regular season.
“It didn’t go well here,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “We just didn’t play well enough. They’re playing really well. We just couldn’t get anything going offensively, obviously. Look, it’s the end of the season — when you’re in this position, you’re going to be disappointed. You’re going to feel unfulfilled.”
Chicago stars Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman each went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in Game 2. The duo finished a combined 0-for-15 with eight strikeouts in the series for the fifth-seeded Cubs.
Stammen said, “Those were the two guys we marked as we don’t want those guys to beat us in this series. We tried our best to set up our pitching to handle them. In the first game, we were just lucky we got out to a bigger lead. It’s a lot easier to pitch to those guys with a bigger lead or with a lead.”
Padres reliever Bradgley Rodriguez (1-0) recorded five outs in his postseason debut. Jason Adam worked a flawless sixth, and Adrian Morejon tossed two innings for the Padres. Mason Miller gave up one hit in the ninth while recording his first career playoff save.
Tyrone Taylor punched a pinch-hit single to right with one out in the eighth for the Cubs’ first hit off a San Diego reliever. Morejon then induced Seiya Suzuki to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Miller struck out Ian Happ to start the ninth before Hoerner doubled to left. Miller fanned pinch hitter Michael Conforto for the second out before getting Carson Kelly to ground to short to end it.
France started the San Diego second inning with a double inside the third base line off Kevin Gausman (0-1). Merrill followed with an infield single and then stole second.
Bogaerts hit a ground single to right, scoring France, and Ethan Salas followed with a sacrifice fly to center to drive in Merrill.
Chicago got on the board in the fourth as Suzuki singled with one out and Happ walked. Hoerner followed with a single to center to score Suzuki and end the night of Padres starter Nick Pivetta.
Rodriguez entered and struck out Matt Shaw before hitting Kelly with a pitch to load the bases. Dansby Swanson then flied out to center.
The Padres responded in the bottom of the inning, starting with Bogaerts’ one-out double that concluded Gausman’s outing. Sheets came up as a pinch hitter with two outs and sent a laser into the right field seats to give San Diego a 4-1 lead.
Gausman allowed three runs and five hits over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out one and walked none.
Pivetta gave up one run and three hits in 3 1/3 innings. He fanned four and issued two walks.
–Field Level Media
