Jackson Merrill gave the Padres exactly the kind of jolt they need in September, and he did it in a way that went well beyond the box score.
On Wednesday afternoon at Petco Park, Merrill went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a triple and a career-high six RBIs as San Diego rolled past the Nationals, 9-2, and completed a three-game sweep. The Padres needed the win, and Merrill made sure the game never had a chance to drift.
The first pitch came with Petco Park sitting in a 95-degree heat record, but Merrill wasted no time making the conditions irrelevant. He finished just a double shy of the cycle, though the missing double hardly changed the story of the day. San Diego got the full force of his bat.
Merrill’s second homer of the afternoon pushed him to 24 on the season, matching the career high he set in his rookie year. He already has a career-best 25 stolen bases, putting him one home run away from his first 25-25 season.
That’s the kind of production the Padres need while their Wild Card hopes hang in the balance. Merrill is giving them power that can flip a game in one swing and speed that keeps pressure on even when the ball doesn’t leave the park.
On Wednesday, he also showed how dangerous he can be by using the whole field. Both homers went the other way, and the triple was driven off the center-field wall.
That approach matters. A hitter who’s only looking to pull can be pitched around.
Merrill isn’t offering that escape hatch right now. He’s staying through the ball, taking what’s there and making pitchers work for every out.
He drove in six of San Diego’s nine runs, a total the Padres can’t expect every night. But they don’t need that every night.
What they do need is for Merrill to keep forcing opposing pitchers into uncomfortable spots. The 25th homer should come soon enough if he keeps swinging like this.
In Other News...
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For a Padres club that always has to balance urgency with long-term fit, Chisholm is the kind of name that naturally changes the way people look at the infield picture. He has been productive enough offensively and solid enough defensively to draw attention beyond the Bronx, and San Diego is not the only club in the mix, with the Texas Rangers also mentioned. The real question is whether the Padres want to make room for another impact infielder while they are also sorting out their pitching priorities. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Pivetta Just Made The Padres' October Rotation Decision Much Harder
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Now the Padres have more viable starters than rotation spots to comfortably hand out, and that puts some pressure on recent additions Robbie Ray and Casey Mize after uneven stretches with the club. Michael King and Walker Buehler are also expected to be part of the postseason mix, which leaves the Padres weighing form, health and trust at the exact moment when every start matters most. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Keep Making The Wild Card Race Feel Way Too Stressful
The Padres made it look comfortable early, then turned the back half of Wednesdays game into another reminder of how tight the National League wild card picture has become. San Diego got long balls from Rafael Devers and Jackson Merrill, plus a safety squeeze from Jake Cronenworth, to build enough cushion against the Giants and keep control of a game that mattered just as much for the standings as it did in the box score.
Fernando Tatis Jr. also chipped in with a solo homer in the sixth to help stretch the margin before the Giants started to chip away. Even after the late push, the Padres were able to hang on and keep their spot in the third wild card race, which is where every win feels like it can change the mood of the week. [Read more 🡒]