Gavin Sheets' pinch-hit homer propels dominant Padres past Cubs 4-1 for 2-game Wild Card sweep

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets blasted a two-run homer, five Padres pitchers combined on a five-hitter, and San Diego swept the Chicago Cubs out of the NL Wild Card Series with a 4-1 victory in Game 2 on Wednesday night.

Xander Bogaerts drove in the first run for the surging Padres, who followed up their 8-0 victory in Tuesday's opener with another dominant mound performance. The Cubs led the majors in runs and the NL in homers this year, but they managed just eight hits — seven singles — over 18 innings against San Diego's inspired staff.

Ethan Salas drove in a run while becoming the youngest player to catch a postseason game in major league history for the Padres, whose 20-3 surge since Sept. 5 has them looking like a threat in the NL. With their fifth playoff series victory in the past seven years, the Padres advanced to face the MLB-best Milwaukee Brewers in an NL division series this weekend.

“It's our entire group coming together, finding ways to win ballgames over and over,” Fernando Tatis Jr. said between puffs on a cigar in the Padres' beer-soaked clubhouse. “This feels great, but we've already been to this part before, and we're all so hungry to go farther.”

One year after the Cubs eliminated the Padres in three tough Wild Card games at Wrigley Field, the Padres reversed the result in two romps before frenzied sellout crowds at Petco Park.

“It’s nice to finish in two,” manager Craig Stammen said. “Saves our bullpen a little bit, and we can decide who’s going to start Game 1. We haven’t decided that yet, but it definitely sets us up better with two days off. Get those guys fresh and ready to go.”

Nico Hoerner had half of the Cubs’ hits in the series, and he drove in Chicago’s only run in the fourth inning. He also got their only extra-base hit of the series with a ninth-inning double off Mason Miller, but the Padres’ vaunted closer calmly finished the save and set off another massive celebration on the field.

“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, when you’re in this position, you’re going to be disappointed. You’re going to feel unfulfilled, and that’s just dominating everything you feel right now. Maybe as you reflect, I think I can get to some better places. Right now, that’s all I feel.”

Probable NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong and veteran slugger Alex Bregman struggled mightily atop the Cubs’ lineup in San Diego, going a combined 0 for 15 with a walk and eight strikeouts over these two games. Bregman played just over a week after he was hit in the face with a foul ball.

“Those were the two guys we marked as we don’t want those guys to beat us in this series,” Stammen said. “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.”

After hitting two homers in the first inning of Game 1, the Padres waited until the second inning of Game 2 to take a 2-0 lead. Ty France led off with a double off Kevin Gausman and scored on Bogaerts’ single before Salas hit a line-drive flyout to center, scoring Jackson Merrill.

Salas, the prized 20-year-old prospect recalled Sept. 1, also became the youngest player to appear in a postseason game for the Padres.

Chicago finally scored when Seiya Suzuki singled and eventually came home on Hoerner’s ground ball to center off Nick Pivetta. Stammen immediately yanked his starter in favor of his intimidating bullpen, and Bradgley Rodríguez escaped a bases-loaded jam.

Rodríguez also pitched the fifth to earn the victory in his postseason debut.

“Those guys, they're so good at what they do,” Pivetta said. “It was a pleasure to watch.”

After Bogaerts’ double chased Gausman in the fourth, Sheets crushed a 100.8 mph fastball from Daniel Palencia into the right-field bleachers. Sheets, the fan-favorite outfielder who is playing with a nagging plantar injury in his left foot, delivered his second career postseason homer and his first since 2021 as a White Sox rookie.

“That was one of the cooler home runs I've ever seen,” Merrill said.

The shot was the Padres’ first pinch-hit postseason homer since 2005, and their long-suffering fans’ cheers rattled the park.

Game 1 of the division series is Saturday in Milwaukee. The Padres took four of six from the Brewers this season, even sweeping a three-game series at Petco Park in August.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

San Diego Padres pitcher Mason Miller reacts after defeating the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado celebrates with first baseman Ty France (25) after defeating the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. celebrates with teammates after defeating the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ (8) chases down a double by San Diego Padres Jase Bowen in the fourth inning of Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres pitcher Nick Pivetta reacts after ending the third inning against the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Chicago Cubs Seiya Suzuki is greeted by first base coach Jose Javier, left, after his single against the San Diego Padres in the fourth inning of Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres pitcher Bradgley Rodriguez reacts after ending the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres Gavin Sheets celebrates his two-run home run against the Chicago Cubs in the fourth inning of Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

NEW YORK (AP) — With the Boston bats ice cold at Yankee Stadium again, a couple of quick hooks by Red Sox rookie manager Chad Tracy led to another early postseason exit.

And top starter Sonny Gray wasn't happy about being lifted after only 70 pitches.

“I think I’m the best pitcher in the American League going through the order the third time. I think that’s a fact,” Gray said. “I would have liked to have been trusted in that moment.”

For the second consecutive season, the Red Sox were sent home for the winter by their biggest rivals as the New York Yankees rolled to a 9-2 victory Wednesday night and a two-game sweep of their Wild Card Series.

Boston was outscored 18-2 overall and left to lament a miserable finish to this roller-coaster ride of a season that included Tracy taking over when Alex Cora was fired in April.

Tracy's decision-making came under scrutiny after both playoff games against the Yankees. In Boston's 9-0 defeat a night earlier, Tracy pulled rookie starter Payton Tolle after 4 2/3 innings and 83 pitches in a 1-0 game.

Last year, the Red Sox won their Wild Card Series opener before losing to New York in a deciding Game 3 as they got overpowered by Cam Schlittler, who pitched another playoff gem against his hometown team Tuesday night.

“To have it end here two times in a row is tough,” shortstop Trevor Story said.

Facing a Yankees lineup missing injured slugger Aaron Judge, the Red Sox gave up 26 hits in two games despite a pair of effective performances from their starting pitchers.

At the plate, Boston mustered only seven hits and finally snapped a 26-inning postseason scoring drought that dated to last year when Willson Contreras homered just over the right-center fence in the sixth Wednesday.

“It’s obviously been an eventful year," Tracy said. "In the moment right now you can’t think much more other than anything but the fact that we just lost a playoff series.”

Needing a victory to extend their season, the Red Sox sent Gray to the mound and the 18-game winner certainly gave them a chance. Boston trailed 1-0 in the fifth when the right-hander allowed a two-out single to Ben Rice that put runners at the corners.

Tracy then yanked Gray, eager to hand the ball to baseball's best bullpen during the regular season.

“I felt good. You know, I felt crisp. I felt sharp. I felt like I was just out there competing. And yeah, I mean, I got clipped for a solo homer and then some singles, but I felt like I stayed on the attack throughout. I was just executing what I wanted to do," Gray said. “I’m frustrated, for sure. You know, not ready for it to end. A lot of emotions.”

Asked about the move, Contreras put his finger over his lips to zip them shut.

“It’s not enough when you have talent or you have data or you have computers that’s telling you what to do, because this is baseball," he said. "The data is here to help us, but at the end of the day you are going to have to need experience and veteran guys to win games.”

In both games of the series, Tracy gave the ball to left-handed reliever Erik Miller after taking out his starting pitcher.

On Tuesday, Rice greeted Miller with a 423-foot solo homer to straightaway center field.

On Wednesday, Tracy summoned Miller to face a different left-handed hitter, Cody Bellinger — who batted .274 against lefties this season and .259 versus right-handers. In fact, his .310 batting average against left-handers over the past two years was the best of any left-handed hitter in the majors.

Bellinger made Tracy and the Red Sox pay, lining an RBI single to right field.

“We’re struggling to score runs,” Tracy said. “And when you get in spots where you're struggling to score runs and you’re already trailing, you feel like you’ve got to be aggressive and go.”

Back from a shoulder injury, ace starter Garrett Crochet entered in the sixth for his first outing since April 25 and first relief appearance since 2023 with the Chicago White Sox. The left-hander opened with a strikeout, but Spencer Jones reached safely on a wild pitch, and Crochet never got an out.

Bellinger's three-run homer off right-hander Garrett Whitlock capped a six-run inning that made it 8-1, and the Red Sox were done. A bullpen that led the majors with a 3.00 ERA during the regular season finished this series with a 20.25 ERA after giving up 15 runs, 15 hits and seven walks in 6 2/3 innings, with a .484 opponents' batting average.

Boston's latest downfall in the Bronx was a crushing end to a wild 2026 season for the Red Sox, who stumbled to a 32-46 start. Tracy was the skipper at Triple-A Worcester before getting promoted to interim manager in Boston, and the team finally began to take off with a four-game sweep of the Yankees at Fenway Park in late June.

After clinching a wild-card spot last week, the Red Sox removed the interim tag and named Tracy the 49th manager in team history, signing him to a three-year contract that runs through the 2029 season, with a club option for 2030. The team also exercised the 2029 and 2030 options on chief baseball officer Craig Breslow.

“I wasn't there for the highs and lows,” Crochet said. “For this team to do what it did do, to make it to this point, was nothing short of miraculous.”

Led by Gray and Contreras, among others, the Red Sox went on a 15-game winning streak in July that equaled a franchise record and used a 32-5 surge to climb back into contention. They became the fourth team in major league history to reach the postseason after falling 14 games under .500, and the first to qualify after losing as many as 44 of its first 75.

Gray, who can become a free agent after the World Series, went around the clubhouse to hug each of his teammates following Wednesday's defeat.

“I'm proud of what we accomplished,” the pitcher said. “We were left for dead there for a while.”

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Garrett Whitlock reacts after giving up a three-run home run to New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Garrett Crochet is pulled from the game against the New York Yankees during the sixth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Yankees' Cody Bellinger reacts while jogging the bases after hitting a three-run home run against the Boston Red Sox during the sixth inningin Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray walks back to the dugout after being pulled during the fifth inning against the New York Yankees in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray, center facing, is pulled from the game against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)