A hustle double on Saturday truly tested the plantar plate tear in Gavin Sheets’ left foot. He also looked plenty comfortable jogging around the bases on Sunday after homering in a 9-4 win as the Padres did their part in eliminating the Diamondbacks from postseason contention.
“I thought yesterday he was just getting his feet underneath him again, playing in a Major League Baseball game,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “Then today, obviously had a home run, made it look like, ‘All right, he’s back to the old Gavin Sheets that we had.’ I think he feels confident about it, and that has given us a lot of confidence also to be able to use him in the postseason.”
The Phillies No.6-seed-clinching, 7-3 win over the Rays officially snuffed out Arizona’s playoff hopes in the seventh inning as Jake Cronenworth’s bases-loaded walk pushed across the Padres’ fifth run of the game. The Padres a day earlier had completed their surge back from a 50-53 record to leapfrog seven teams to claim home-field advantage in the NL Wild Card Series.
That meant Sunday was a rest day for regulars and a tuneup for role players.
Randy Vásquez allowed three hits over six innings of one-run ball before right-hander Griffin Canning coughed up three runs over the final three innings in the team’s 91st win.
Manny Machado had an RBI single in two at-bats — two cracks at hitting his 400th homer — before he was lifted for a pinch-runner.
Ty France, Dustin Harris and Austin Hays each had two hits and catcher Freddy Fermin doubled in a run and drove in two runs with a seventh-inning single. Hays’ second single drove in two runs in the eighth.
Sheets’ fourth-inning homer off right-hander Michael Soroka (4⅔ IP, 3 ER) — No. 17 on the season, two shy of last year’s career-high — traveled 423 feet to center on a 106 mph line. He popped out in his first at-bat and was lifted for pinch-hitter Luis Campusano in the fifth. He had two homers in his previous 146 plate appearances (.167/.301/.242), dating back to July 1.
Sheets was activated on Saturday after missing nearly a month and went 1-for-5 with what read as an RBI double in the box score.
In truth, Sheets popped up to shallow center field, noticed both outfielders had lost the ball in the twilight and accelerated through first base to wind up on second.
It was a good box to check as he prepares to help the Padres in the playoffs as a left-handed bat, either as a DH or in the pinch. He’d certainly passed all the base-running tests while ramping up in Arizona, but …
“To do it in the majors leagues,” Sheets said, “it’s a good test to do it in the game and get to full speed and be able to do leads and all that stuff. That was good.”
Joe Musgrove #44 of the San Diego Padres looks on before the game against the New York Yankees at Petco Park on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
A true wild card?
The Padres are evaluating what Joe Musgrove’s next step is, but there is a sense of optimism he can help them out of the bullpen at some point in the postseason.
Padres officials won’t say what their plan is, but their tone discussing the possibility of Musgrove contributing has been different the past few days. Musgrove looked sharp throwing to hitters in an instructional league game and in live batting practice with two days’ rest in between.
It was the inability to bounce back after his rehab starts that caused Musgrove to be shut down in August. It was at that point that the effort shifted to his possibly working as a reliever in the short term.
“I don’t know if it’s the shorter outings or if we’ve finally reached a point where my arm is just feeling healthy,” Musgrove said. “… I do feel the most optimistic I’ve felt at any time in the last two years.”
Musgrove has not pitched in a major league game since Game 2 of the 2024 National League Wild Card Series. He underwent Tommy John surgery along with a procedure to repair his flexor tendon the next week. Complicating his recovery has been the lack of cartilage in his elbow.
Musgrove was reaching 95 mph with his fastball and commanding his breaking pitches extremely well, according to those who watched him pitch last Tuesday and Friday. That greatly increased the belief he could provide three to six outs for them at some point in October.
While indications are the Padres are thinking more about potentially using him in a longer series should they advance, Musgrove is shooting for sooner than later.
“I’ve been out a long time,” he said Sunday. This team has gotten where they are without me. I just want to be part of it. … Physically, I don’t feel like I need more time. Throwing more, there’s a possibility for it to go sideways. I’m hoping for a wild-card opportunity.”
Arrived?
Harris was slotted in the leadoff spot for the regular season finale. Before that, the minor league journeyman had entrenched himself as the No. 2 hitter against right-handed starters.
But you know you’ve really arrived when your teammates start wearing a custom shirt made in your honor.
To be clear, no one affiliated with the Padres produced the newest addition to a collection that includes multiple versions of “Holy Sheets,” “Big Eiffel” for Ty France and “Swing Away Merrill” to play off Mel Gibson’s 2002 “Signs.”
A fan reportedly dropped off a bag of Dustin Harris-themed shirts — “White Dudes for Harris” — in the bullpen, and they made their way into the clubhouse. The shirt is a play off the “White Dudes for Harris” fundraiser for Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Dustin Harris does not yet have the shirt, but the gesture is certainly appreciated by the 27-year-old outfielder.
“Just shows kind of how close the team is,” Harris said of getting his own shirt in the clubhouse. “Just kind of wearing each other’s shirts — it’s pretty cool.”
Notable
The San Diego chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America voted first baseman Ty France as the Padres’ MVP and closer Mason Miller as the team’s pitcher of the year. France paired a career-high 21 homers with a team-best .865 OPS. Miller struck out 129 batters over 70 innings (1.67 ERA) and was tied for the NL lead with 38 saves.
A sellout crowd of 44,471 was the 66th sellout of the season. The total regular-season attendance (3,347,081) was the second highest in franchise history, behind only the 2025 season (3,437,201). The 2026 home attendance also ranked second in the majors, behind only Dodger Stadium (4,034,219).
The Padres haven’t lost a series since dropping three straight sets to the Pirates, Rays and Reds from Aug. 24-Sept. 2.