The San Diego Padres will be moving on in the MLB Playoffs. It was a dominant series for the Padres against the Chicago Cubs, outscoring their opponent 12-1 over two games.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Padres were leading 2-1 with Xander Bogaerts on base. Gavin Sheets came to the plate as a pinch hitter and took a 0-1 fastball to right field, hitting a home run.
For Sheets, it was the only plate appearance of the series, but it was a massive one. After taking the 4-1 lead, pitching took over. Only three more members of the Cubs would reach base, but none of them would score as the Padres won the game 4-1. Pitching was great in the series overall, allowing just eight hits over 18 innings. Meanwhile, the pitching staff gave up just one run. The bullpen pitched 7 and two-thirds innings, giving up just four hits, and did not surrender a run.
At the plate, Jackson Merrilll was great, going four for seven with two RBIs. Meanwhile, Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and Bogaerts all had home runs, combining for five RBIs.
The Padres will now face the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Division Series. The Padres went 4-2 over the Brewers in the regular season. The Brewers took two of three over the Padres in mid-May at home. The two teams faced off again in the middle of August in San Diego. The Padres won all three games, as the offense racked up 18 runs in the three-game series.
The NLDS begins in Milwaukee on Saturday.