{"id":476913,"date":"2026-09-27T00:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T00:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/476913\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T00:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T00:02:08","slug":"padres-pregame-gavin-sheets-activated-casey-mize-to-il-as-padres-seek-to-clinch-home-playoff-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/476913\/","title":{"rendered":"Padres pregame: Gavin Sheets activated, Casey Mize to IL as Padres seek to clinch home playoff series"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gavin Sheets rejoined the Padres on Thursday<\/a>, hours before a raucous celebration in a cramped visiting clubhouse at Dodger Stadium. Two long days later, the 30-year-old slugger was finally activated and in a starting big-league lineup.<\/p>\n

It was about time for Sheets.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you get back in this clubhouse, you start champing at the bit to get back in the lineup and get back on the field,\u201d Sheets said before Saturday\u2019s 5:40 p.m. start against the Arizona Diamondbacks. \u201cWatching from afar and just seeing the way this crowd\u2019s been and everything, I\u2019ve been dying to get back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welcome back, Gavin \ud83e\udef6 pic.twitter.com\/eDRMgBBTtZ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Sheets\u2019 return was one of several roster moves ahead of the Padres making a second attempt to secure home-field advantage for next week\u2019s NL Wild Card Series.<\/p>\n

The simplest way to view it is this: Win Saturday and the Padres will host someone on Tuesday (you can read about the scenarios in Kevin Acee\u2019s newsletter<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Right-hander Casey Mize (right ankle) foreshadowed his move to the 15-day injured list after another poor start Friday night. The Padres also optioned left-hander Kyle Hart to the minors and recalled right-hander Griffin Canning.<\/p>\n

Hart has a 4.92 ERA over 64 innings this year in the majors and had a 14.85 ERA in seven appearances in September after a superb August (1.08 ERA).<\/p>\n

\u201cI think from where he was last year to this year is exponentially different,\u201d Padres manager Craig Stammen said. \u201cHe carried our bullpen there for a little while when we were mixing and matching and doing the bullpen games. He was a huge part of that. If we didn\u2019t have him, we wouldn\u2019t have got through that. But I think the toll of the season maybe has worn him down a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hart, like Mize, cannot return for 15 days, which would be Game 1 of the NLCS. Mize said Friday night it was time to \u201chave some honest conversations\u201d about his right ankle \u2014 sprained in his fourth start with the Padres in August \u2014 limiting him as he pushed down the mound and robbing him of his effectiveness.<\/p>\n

After beginning the year with a 2.70 ERA in 16 starts with the Tigers, Mize posted a 7.46 ERA in 10 starts after the trade deadline and a 7.76 EA in six starts after the team decided to keep him in the rotation.<\/p>\n

An alternative could have been putting Mize on the injured list right away and giving Randy V\u00e1squez (10-6, 4.01 ERA) a spot in the rotation again.<\/p>\n

\u201cDefinitely wasn\u2019t in consideration at that point,\u201d Stammen said. \u201cWe felt like it was a minor ankle sprain, and he bounced back rather quickly and was able to throw one or two days after that. Was able to throw his bullpen in between that start. We felt really good about him. He had an extra day that week, if I remember right, but it\u2019s just kind of one of those things that\u2019s lingered a little longer than expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canning is returning to a pitching staff days after he was optioned to the minors to make room for Jason Adam\u2019s return to the bullpen. Canning will return to the bullpen and very well could be part of a bullpen game on Sunday as the Padres have not named a starter for the regular-season finale.<\/p>\n

Sheets will serve as the DH on Saturday and will likely be limited to hitting at least early on in his return to the roster. He clarified his injury as a plantar plate tear instead of plantar fasciitis and said he turned a corner after two to three weeks of wearing a boot and shutting down baseball activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting to Arizona, it wasn\u2019t a slow ramp-up,\u201d Sheets said. \u201cIt was like, \u2018Hey, let\u2019s go right for it. And, you know, if it doesn\u2019t work out, then we\u2019ll shut it down for good. But if it does work out, let\u2019s move as fast as we can.\u2019 And so once we got to Arizona, I mean, it was literally hitting the ground running. I mean, it was running, throwing, running the bases, getting at-bats, taking a lot of swings, and seeing how it bounced back. And it bounced back really well \u2014 I think better than we all kind of expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here is how Arizona, still hoping to catch the Phillies for the sixth seed, will line up for Game 2:<\/p>\n

Dig deep. pic.twitter.com\/vpeag9xlyA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) September 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s pitching matchup<\/p>\n

D-backs RHP Taylor Clarke (2-4, 2.86 ERA)<\/p>\n

Manager Torey Lovullo had to name a starter following news that RHP Corbin Burnes (0-0, 7.84 ERA) was headed to the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder. The former NL Cy Young winner had made three starts since returning from last year\u2019s Tommy John surgery. Clarke\u2019s start will be the beginning of a bullpen game. Clarke last pitched on Thursday, allowing a run in an inning of work at Coors Field. He hasn\u2019t thrown more than two innings or 36 pitches in a game.<\/p>\n

Padres RHP Walker Buehler (9-6, 4.56 ERA)<\/p>\n

Buehler has allowed three earned runs or less in 12 straight starts (3.39 ERA), helping the team go 9-3 in that stretch. The former Dodger is 7-1 with a 2.57 ERA in 91 career innings against Arizona in the regular season, but he has allowed eight runs in nine innings in two starts this year.<\/p>\n

Here is how Buehler has fared against current Diamondbacks:<\/p>\n

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