SAN DIEGO -- Xander Bogaerts on Thursday, Gavin Sheets on Friday.
The Padres are making late drama a bit of a habit.
Sheets launched a walk-off, three-run home run on Friday night, sending the Padres to a 5-2 victory over the Rockies at Petco Park. They’re now 1-0 in their new City Connects.
A night after Bogaerts hit the 10th walk-off grand slam in franchise history, it marks the first time the Padres have hit walk-off home runs on consecutive nights since Kyle Higashioka and Jackson Merrill in June 2024 against the A’s. Merrill hit his off current teammate Mason Miller -- you know, back when Miller used to allow runs.
After a slow start, the Padres have now won seven of their last nine. Here’s some analysis from another wild walk-off victory:
Holy Sheets, indeed
Sheets got a hold of one in the bottom of the fifth inning, breaking a scoreless tie at the time -- a moonshot that was the first of two hit toward the very same part of the park. His pair of home runs were almost identical, soaring toward the palm trees beyond right-center field.
Almost identical. But the circumstances weren’t.
“The second one,” Sheets said with a smile, “felt a lot better than the first.”
With the game tied at 2-2 in the ninth, Merrill led off with a single, and Manny Machado followed with a walk. After Bogaerts’ fly ball moved Merrill to third, Sheets knew a fly ball would win it. He also knew Rockies right-hander Juan Mejia would be doing his best to keep the ball on the ground.
"It’s such a fun lineup, top to bottom,” Sheets said. “Jackson getting it going, then Manny, then Bogey getting Jackson over -- it made my at-bat so much better. Just need to get the ball in the air in that situation.”
He got it in the air -- a Statcast-projected 434 feet in the air, sending Petco Park into a frenzy for the second consecutive night.
“In the dugout, it’s not ‘if’ we’re going to win,” said manager Craig Stammen. “But who’s going to be the guy that gets it done. That’s a good feeling.”
The Luis Campusano breakout we’ve been waiting for?
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The sample is small -- only seven games. The season is long. Campusano has tantalized before.
But the Padres have been waiting for a breakout from Campusano for a long, long time. His opportunities have always been sporadic. But when they’ve arrived, he’s underwhelmed.
Then again, he was a young catcher. And young catchers require time and patience. Campusano is still only 27.
“One thing that we’ve got to give him credit for,” Stammen said, “is just his overall attitude, confidence and maturity.”
This was a make-or-break season for Campusano. He’s out of options -- and was never guaranteed a roster spot in Spring Training. The Padres explored other catching options but settled on Campusano as the backup to Freddy Fermin.
Thus far, it looks like a savvy decision. On Friday, he doubled and homered, raising his OPS to 1.154. Campusano -- whose stints in the big leagues were short-lived last season -- recently ended a 35 at-bat hitless drought. He’s hit safely in five straight games since.
It’s hard to envision Campusano maintaining this level of production. But it’s also clear that Stammen’s staff has a greater deal of trust in Campusano than previous staffs. Thus far, Campusano is rewarding that faith.
Buehler brings the heat
This was not the dominant pre-Tommy John surgery version of Walker Buehler, who could blow high-90s fastballs past hitters at a regular clip.
“I want to throw fastballs, I like throwing fastballs, it’s what I’ve done my whole life,” Buehler said. “The reality is it’s not quite the same that it used to be.”
Still, Buehler’s fastball velocity was up a tick on Friday night -- and it’s no coincidence that he turned in his best start as a Padre. After two rough outings, Buehler went heavy on four-seamers, sinkers and cutters.
He used the hard stuff to great success, working six scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing only three hits -- all singles. Aided by some excellent defense behind him, Buehler was efficient, too, requiring only 68 pitches.
“I feel like I needed to get a good one under my belt,” Buehler said.
The Padres have now gotten scoreless outings from their Nos. 4 and 5 starters -- Buehler and Germán Márquez -- the last two times they’ve taken the ball. For a team with major question marks at the back of the rotation, it’s a hugely significant development.