Monday’s temperature for the first pitch at Petco Park was 91 degrees, tied for the second-hottest for a San Diego Padres home game since the facility opened in 2004.
“I love this city but didn’t like the weather,” Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill said.
Still, Merrill rapped out three hits, knocked in two runs and made a great catch at the wall to lead the Padres to a 3-2 win over the Washington Nationals.
Merrill will try to follow with another strong performance on Tuesday night when San Diego aims for a series win in the three-game set.
At 76-68, the Padres trail the Arizona Diamondbacks by a half-game in the race for the National League’s third and final wild-card spot. As he has done frequently since the All-Star break, Merrill led his team with a well-rounded effort.
In addition to knocking in the Padres’ first and last runs, he also stole his 25th base of the year. All three of his hits logged exit velocities of at least 106 mph, including 112.1 on an eighth-inning double.
With Jake Cronenworth struggling in the second spot in the batting order (including 0-for-4 on Monday), San Diego manager Craig Stammen was asked after the win if he thought about moving Merrill up in the lineup.
“The way Jackson’s been hitting in the 5-hole is a good thing for our team,” Stammen said, “and it’s going to be hard to move him out of there because of the way he’s been hitting behind Manny (Machado) and Ty (France). We’ll keep trying to find the right solution for that.”
Stammen and the Padres hope Casey Mize (5-9, 3.64 ERA) has found the solution for what has ailed him the last three starts. The right-hander is coming off a 7-3 loss Wednesday in Cincinnati, which touched him for five hits and four runs in four innings, with a walk and four strikeouts.
Mize is 1-3 with a 6.67 ERA in six starts with the Padres since the trade-deadline acquisition from the Detroit Tigers last month. He has faced Washington just once in his career, allowing just one run in six innings but settling for a no-decision while with the Tigers in June 2024.
Meanwhile, the Nationals — who have lost five straight games — are expected to go with rookie Riley Cornelio (2-2, 5.96 ERA) as either the opener or bulk reliever in a bullpen game. Cornelio took the loss in their 9-0 defeat to Atlanta on Wednesday, allowing three hits and three runs in 2 2/3 innings, with a walk and three strikeouts. This will be the right-hander’s first appearance against San Diego.
Washington (67-79) was in contention at the trade deadline but played the seller’s role, dealing key players, such as infielders Luis Garcia Jr. and Curtis Mead. The Nationals are 12-21 since the deadline on Aug. 3.
A key culprit has been a bullpen that has tied the major league record with 37 blown saves in a season. Losing one of the few reliable options, Orlando Ribalta, to the 15-day injured list with right forearm inflammation on Monday won’t help Washington protect its late-inning leads.
Ribalta was holding left-handers to a .132 batting average (9-for-68) and hadn’t allowed a hit in 11 at-bats with the bases loaded, fanning five.
“It’s on the outside of his right forearm,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said of Ribalta’s injury. “It’s something he’s dealt with a little bit this year, but he’s managed. Generally speaking, it’s a huge blow.”
–Field Level Media
