SAN DIEGO — Gavin Sheets, the offensive surprise of the San Diego Padres’ season, exited Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates after crashing face-first into the left-field wall at Petco Park.
Sheets, the Padres’ primary designated hitter, was playing left field during the top of the fourth when Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier drove a fly ball in his direction. Sheets turned, ran toward the wall and collided with it as the ball bounced off the top of the fence for a solo home run. As center fielder Jackson Merrill, manager Mike Shildt and two athletic trainers hurried to his side, Sheets remained on the ground for what would be multiple minutes. He eventually walked off the field under his own power. Outfielder Brandon Lockridge took Sheets’ place in the field.
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Shildt said after the game, a 6-4 win for the Padres, that Sheets has a “head contusion coupled with a sore hip and a little bit of a jammed wrist and thumb.” The manager added that the team was still in the process of evaluating Sheets for those injuries, as well as the possibility of a concussion.
“Talking to (Padres head athletic trainer Mark Rogow), the hip is a little bit more sore than the other areas, but not to minimize the other areas, either,” Shildt said.
Sheets, who was not available for comment after the game, has been an unexpectedly valuable contributor for the Padres. Non-tendered by the Chicago White Sox in November, he joined San Diego on a minor-league deal shortly before spring training. He broke camp with the team and has since hit .267 with 11 home runs and a club-leading 34 RBIs.
Sheets has spent the majority of his time at DH, but with veteran Jason Heyward on the injured list and the Padres severely lacking offense from the left-field spot, he recently joined the outfield rotation. Still, Sunday brought just his 15th career start in left, and his awkward fit at the position has been obvious. On May 18, in his first left-field start in several weeks, Sheets also collided with the Petco Park wall trying to make a play on a double.
If Sheets must miss time because of the injuries he sustained, the Padres do not have many healthy alternatives in left. Lockridge has a .512 OPS. Utility player Tyler Wade, who also has filled in, in left, has a .640 OPS. In April, outfielder Tirso Ornelas collected one hit in 14 at-bats during his first big-league stint.
(Photo: David Frerker / Imagn Images)
