Padres’ Gavin Sheets avoids head injury after crash into wall

San Diego left fielder Gavin Sheets said Monday that he passed all concussion tests following a hard face-first collision with the wall during the Padres’ Sunday home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Sheets was down on the warning track for several minutes after trying to prevent Adam Frazier’s fourth-inning homer. He eventually was helped off the field and diagnosed with a head bruise, hip soreness and a jammed wrist and thumb.
“All things considered, felt pretty good today,” Sheets said prior to San Diego’s road game against the San Francisco Giants on Monday. “Woke up, head felt good. Last night, I was obviously sore, mainly in the hip. But I woke up today, and all things considered for the play, I felt pretty good.”
The left-handed-hitting Sheets wasn’t in the Monday starting lineup despite the Giants going with ace right-hander Logan Webb. Tyler Wade got the start in left.
Sheets, 29, has been a major surprise for the Padres this season. He leads the team with 34 RBIs and ranks second with 11 homers.
Sheets was non-tendered by the Chicago White Sox following last season and the Padres took a flier on him and signed him to minor league deal just before the start of spring training.
Sheets made the team and quickly turned himself a key cog as a first baseman and designated hitter. He is batting .267 and slugging .494 in 54 games and was just recently asked to play left field because of his hot bat.
“I’ll do whatever — whatever they want me to do,” Sheets said. “Whatever gets me in the lineup, whatever they need me to do, I’ll do.”
With Sheets avoiding a serious head injury, Padres manager Mike Shildt had fun with the situation in which the 6-foot-3, 235-pound utility man ran full steam into the wall.
“I think the fence is OK,” Shildt said.