Padres sweep Cubs out of NL Wild Card Series with 4-1 Game 2 win
Gavin Sheets' pinch-hit two-run homer and five and two-thirds scoreless bullpen innings sealed a 4-1 Game 2 win as San Diego swept Chicago 2-0 in the NL Wild Card Series and advanced to face the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS.
The San Diego Padres swept the Chicago Cubs out of the National League Wild Card Series on Wednesday, sealing the best-of-three with a 4-1 victory in Game 2 at Petco Park.
With the Padres clinging to a 2-1 lead, pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets turned the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, launching a two-run homer into the right-field seats off Cubs reliever Daniel Palencia to make it 4-1. It was Sheets’ second homer in seven career postseason games.
Xander Bogaerts had two hits and an RBI, while Jackson Merrill and Ty France each had two hits and a run. Bogaerts’ ground single and Ethan Salas’ sacrifice fly staked San Diego to a 2-0 lead in the second inning.
Chicago’s only run in the series came in the fourth, when Nico Hoerner’s RBI single scored Seiya Suzuki and ended starter Nick Pivetta’s night. Bradgley Rodriguez escaped the bases-loaded jam in relief, and Rodriguez, Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller then combined for five and two-thirds scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. Miller struck out Ian Happ to start the ninth and closed out his first career playoff save.
The Cubs, who led the majors with 850 runs in the regular season, managed only eight hits — and one run — across 18 innings. Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman finished a combined 0-for-15 with eight strikeouts in the series.
The fourth-seeded Padres advance to face the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers in a best-of-five NL Division Series that begins Saturday in Milwaukee.
Sources
- Reuters (Field Level Media), “Bullpen carries Padres to sweep-sealing win over Cubs”, 2026-10-01: https://www.reuters.com/sports/baseball/bullpen-carries-padres-sweep-sealing-win-over-cubs—flm-2026-10-01/
- New York Post, “Padres sweep Cubs in NL Wild Card Series with 4-1 Game 2 win, advance to NLDS”, 2026-10-01: https://nypost.com/2026/10/01/sports/padres-sweep-cubs-in-nl-wild-card-series-with-4-1-game-2-win-advance-to-nlds/
- Associated Press via theScore, “Padres to play Brewers in NLDS after eliminating Cubs”, 2026-10-01: https://pt.thescore.com/mlb/news/3612976/padres-to-play-brewers-in-nlds-after-eliminating-cubs
- NBC Sports, “Gavin Sheets homers as Padres eliminate Cubs”, 2026-10-01: https://www.nbcsports.com/fantasy/baseball/player-news/2026-10-01/gavin-sheets-homers-as-padres-eliminate-cubs
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