CLEVELAND -- Luis Rengifo and Gavin Sheets belted back-to-back homers in the second inning and Casey Mize earned his first National League victory as the Padres beat the Guardians, 5-0, in the rubber game of the series on Sunday afternoon at Progressive Field.
The first pitch was delayed by 3 hours, 11 minutes because of rain.
Jase Bowen and Jake Cronenworth both hit solo homers and Xander Bogaerts added an RBI single for San Diego (67-58), which is tied with Philadelphia (67-58) for the second and third NL Wild Card spots. Arizona (66-59) sits one game outside of a postseason position.
Mize tossed six scoreless innings in his third start since being acquired at the Trade Deadline from the Tigers. The right-hander allowed three hits and struck out three, gaining his first win since July 5.
Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morejon and Yuki Matsui followed to secure the combined three-hitter and the Padres’ ninth shutout of the season. San Diego is an MLB-best 29-17 in day games.
Rengifo and Sheets both went deep against Tanner Bibee (4-13), who leads the Majors in losses. Rengifo had two hits against the righty, raising his career average against him to .571 in 14 at-bats. They were San Diego’s first back-to-back homers since Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez did it on April 14, 2025, against the Cubs at Petco Park.
The Padres own the best record in the Majors since July 24, winning 17 of 22 games, and they are 6-0-1 in their last seven series. They also have won seven of their last eight against Cleveland, including two of three this weekend.