Padres beat Cubs 4-1, win sweep behind Sheets’ huge homer
The San Diego Padres beat Cubs starter Kevin Gausman early and held on for a 4-1 win over Chicago on Wednesday night at Petco Park, completing a two-game sweep of their NL Wild Card Series. Gavin Sheets added two insurance runs with a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the fourth inning, and four Padres relievers held Chicago scoreless over the final 5 2/3 innings.
Nico Hoerner’s RBI single in the top of the fourth had just pulled the Cubs within 2-1, scoring Seiya Suzuki. Sheets answered in the bottom half off reliever Daniel Palencia, driving a 100.8 mph fastball into the right-field bleachers to score Xander Bogaerts and push the lead to 4-1, according to ESPN and The Associated Press.
Key moments: how the Padres beat Cubs in Game 2
San Diego scored first in the second inning. Ty France doubled and scored on a Bogaerts single, and Ethan Salas added a sacrifice fly to bring home Jackson Merrill for a 2-0 lead. Chicago starter Kevin Gausman allowed three runs on five hits over 3 1/3 innings.
Hoerner’s single cut the deficit in the fourth, but Sheets’ homer restored the cushion minutes later. Sheets’ blast was the Padres’ first pinch-hit home run in the postseason since 2005, according to the AP. From there, Bradgley Rodriguez, Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller combined to allow just two hits, and Miller struck out two in the ninth to earn the save.
A dominant series for San Diego
The Padres opened the series with an 8-0 win Tuesday, when Michael King held the Cubs without a hit through six innings and Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado homered off Matthew Boyd in the first inning, according to Yahoo Sports. It was the largest shutout win in Padres postseason history.
The Padres beat Cubs hitters so thoroughly that Chicago scored one run in 18 innings over the two games. Salas, 20, became the youngest player to catch a postseason game in MLB history, per the AP.
Top performers
Sheets went 1-for-1 with the homer and two RBIs as the Padres beat Cubs pitching for the second straight night. Merrill reached base three times, going 2-for-3 with a run and a walk. France added two hits and a run, and Bogaerts went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Padres starter Nick Pivetta allowed one run on three hits with four strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings before turning it over to the bullpen. Rodriguez earned the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings.
For Chicago, Hoerner finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Suzuki scored the team’s only run. The Cubs managed five hits. Gausman took the loss, allowing three earned runs.
What it means after the Padres beat Cubs
San Diego advances to the NL Division Series after finishing the regular season 91-71. The Padres beat Cubs pitching for 12 runs in two games while allowing only one. The Cubs end their season at 89-73 after winning 92 games and reaching the NLDS in 2025. Chicago finished 14 games behind the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers, who won the season series 9-4, according to CBS Sports.
The loss raises fresh questions about president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, whose Cubs have neither won the division nor reached the NLCS in his six full seasons running the front office, according to CBS Sports.
What’s next
The Padres face the Brewers in the NLDS, with Game 1 set for Saturday in Milwaukee. The Cubs’ season is over, and the organization now turns to offseason roster decisions. Before the game, Total Apex Sports previewed Chicago’s elimination-game matchup and how Ethan Salas was set to become the youngest postseason catcher in MLB history.
Reporting from CBS Sports, ESPN, The Associated Press and the Chicago Tribune contributed to this story. Official statistics: ESPN.