Padres power surge: 4 homers back Casey Mize’s 1st San Diego win in a 5-0 win over Guardians

CLEVELAND (AP) — Luis Rengifo and Gavin Sheets hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning, Casey Mize allowed three hits in six innings to pick up his first win in a San Diego uniform, and the Padres defeated the Cleveland Guardians 5-0 on Sunday.

Jase Bowen and Jake Cronenworth also went deep for the Padres, who hit at least four homers in a game for the sixth time this season.

San Diego — which took two of three in the weekend series — has gone 6-0-1 in its last seven series and is a major league best 17-5 since July 24.

José Ramírez had two hits for the Guardians, who have dropped their last five series and are 4-11 since July 31.

Mize (5-7), acquired from Detroit at the trade deadline, gave up three hits in his third Padres' start.

Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee (4-13) retired the first five hitters before Rengifo connected on an elevated sinker down the middle and drove it over the wall in center field. Five pitches later, Sheets drove a changeup just over the fence in right field.

It was the first time since last April that the Padres had hit back-to-back homers.

Bowen, who came into the game as a defensive replacement in the sixth inning, made diving catches in the sixth and seventh innings to take away hits from Cleveland's Angel Martínez and Nathaniel Lowe. He then extended San Diego's lead to four runs in the eighth with a shot to right.

Cronenworth went deep to right-center in the ninth.

Bibee gave up three runs in six innings. The Guardians had only three hits, none after the fourth inning.

The game started after a 3 hour, 11 minute rain delay.

Padres: Open a three-game series at the New York Mets. RHP Walker Buehler (7-5, 4.88 ERA) goes on Monday night.

Guardians: LHP Foster Griffin (13-4, 3.25 ERA) makes his third Cleveland start on Tuesday against the San Francisco Giants.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

San Diego Padres' Casey Mize pitches in the first inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Tim Phillis)

San Diego Padres' Gavin Sheets celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run in the second inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Sunday Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Tim Phillis)

Members of the Cleveland Guardians grounds crew remove a tarp from the field during a rain delay before a baseball game against the San Diego Padres in Cleveland, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Tim Phillis)

Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez dives but is caught while trying to steal second base during the first inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres in Cleveland, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Tim Phillis)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday said vandals are to blame for large swaths of dead grass on the National Mall near the World War II Memorial — in the same spot where Trump had a stage built and hosted crowds for his July 4 celebration.

Trump made the accusation in a social media post without saying why he believes it's the work of vandals instead of trampled turf from the Independence Day festivities. He posted a photo showing a once-grassy area by the World War II Memorial, now patchy and brown across much of the sprawling turf.

“Look what VANDALS did to the grass connecting the vandalized World War II Monument and the vandalized Reflecting Pool, which will be opened again, and better than ever, shortly,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

“Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School!” he added.

Trump has repeatedly blamed vandals for damage to his renovation projects in the nation's capital, often without evidence and sometimes despite opposing accounts from his officials. Trump lashed out at U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro this month after her office concluded that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was the result of poor construction and not the work of vandals, as Trump claimed.

Authorities on Friday announced an arrest in connection with vandalism at the World War II Memorial, after the words “Clean hands dirty $” were found painted on the monument and bubbles filled a fountain. Pirro said felony charges are being brought against Melissa L. Farris.

Charging documents in that case make no mention of the grassy area Trump is highlighting in his new claims. Authorities said Farris had previously been arrested for camping on federal property a few blocks from the World War II Memorial, but not the area cited by Trump.

That stretch of lawn is instead where a large stage was built and crowds gathered to hear from Trump and watch fireworks at a July 4 event celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary. Trump claimed without providing evidence that more than 400,000 people attended the event before a storm hit the area and delayed his remarks.

Photos from the time, taken by a streaming webcam atop the Washington Monument, show a large bandstand and seating areas covering nearly the entire lawn Trump now says has been vandalized. Associated Press photos from the days that followed showed workers removing the structures, revealing brown, damaged grass underneath.

On Aug. 1, Trump posted a different photo of the same area that appears to show the numbers “86 47” — which federal officials have said constitutes a threat against Trump — emblazoned into the grass. He cited it as evidence refuting Pirro's conclusion, calling it “a pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass."

“There may have been some contractor difficulty, but the major damage was caused by VANDALS!” he wrote.

Those numbers are not visible in the photo Trump posted to social media on Sunday.

FILE - Workers dismantle structures from Salute to America, an Independence Day event honoring the nation's 250th anniversary, as seen from the Washington Monument, on July 10, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)