Sheets' 'big swing' complemented by small things in Opening Day win

SAN DIEGO -- A year ago, the Padres won 93 games, the second-highest total in franchise history. They did so while playing a crisp, clean, all-out brand of baseball. Their offensive identity -- even on a team loaded with superstars -- centered around unselfish at-bats and resiliency in the face of adversity.

That was the 2024 Padres. That was before the unceremonious postseason ending and an offseason full of question marks. After an agonizing winter -- after an agonizing wait for the next season to begin -- would that identity carry over into ‘25?

Sure looks like it.

Before a resplendent Petco Park -- and an Opening Day-record 45,568 fans packed into the downtown San Diego ballyard -- the Padres rallied for a 7-4 victory over the Braves on Thursday afternoon, using all the trademarks from their second-half surge a season ago.

The Padres worked counts. They came from behind with a vengeance. Their bullpen and defense held the line. And they got contributions from all corners of their roster -- including newcomer Gavin Sheets, who launched a pinch-hit game-tying homer in the seventh inning, sparking a game-winning four-run rally.

“We played our brand of baseball,” center fielder Jackson Merrill said. “Which is huge -- that it's transferred over. It's not just a one-year thing and done.”

The cast of characters is slightly different, of course. As Merrill spoke, he wore a shirt with Jurickson Profar’s face emblazoned on the chest. Merrill made sure to put it on just before his interview.

Profar was in the opposite dugout on Thursday and received a standing ovation before leading off the game. The Padres undoubtedly will miss Profar. (Judging by Merrill’s shirt selection, they already do.) But they made do without him.

Brandon Lockridge started in left and made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Ozzie Albies of extra bases in a big spot. (Merrill followed with another catch at the wall an inning later.) When Lockridge’s turn came around in the seventh, the Padres trailed by a run, and manager Mike Shildt called for Sheets to face Braves righty Héctor Neris.

Sheets spent the past four seasons with the White Sox, struggling mightily in the past two. The Padres brought him to camp on a Minor League deal, hoping he could provide some lefty thump. Sheets proceeded to slug his way to a roster spot with six Cactus League home runs.

But the Cactus League is one thing. A one-run game against another National League heavyweight on Opening Day? A different thing entirely. Sheets, however, continued to mash, pulverizing a 3-2 fastball at the top of the zone over the center-field fence.

“Big swing for Gavin,” Shildt said afterward. “Welcome to the Padres.”

Sheets became the third player in franchise history to record a pinch-hit home run in his first at-bat with the club. The last to do so was Seth Smith in 2014 -- a homer with a similar feel, in that it was a late, game-tying blast on Opening Day.

Sheets’ Day 1 impact again felt emblematic of the Padres’ identity carrying over into 2025. A year ago, the fringes of the San Diego roster were consistent contributors. Those contributions were not small either.

The fringes of that roster got an overhaul this winter. So far, the results look similar.

“We have our superstars here,” Sheets said. “I knew that I wasn’t coming in to be a superstar. I was coming in to add depth and lengthen the lineup out as long as possible, come off the bench if needed, just do whatever.”

The superstars played their part, too. Fernando Tatis Jr. went 3-for-4 with a 112 mph rocket of a single off the top of the left-field wall. “Topspin,” Tatis lamented later, with an exasperated sigh. Manny Machado had two doubles and a walk and joined Tatis in stealing two bases as the Padres ran wild.

“We’ve created an identity of how we are going to play and compete,” Shildt said. “We can talk about it all we want. But it was on display today.”

Indeed, the Padres have talked about it all spring. But the questions would always persist until the games started to count -- until the Padres could begin to prove they’re the same team that posted the best record in baseball in the second half of the 2024 season (43-20). Perhaps fated for a different ending this time.

“The emphasis all Spring Training was continuing to grow -- continuing to grow from where we left off last year,” Machado said. “It was a good example today.”