How does center fielder Jackson Merrill explain the San Diego Padres’ best start in franchise history?
“We’re having fun,” he said. “That’s all there is to say.”
Merrill and San Diego will try to have fun one more time on what has been a perfect homestand to start the season. The Padres will host the Cleveland Guardians Wednesday afternoon in the last game of the series, going for a three-game sweep and a 7-0 start.
Merrill, 21, got the Padres started on their 7-0 win Tuesday night, blasting a two-out solo homer in the fourth. He later walked and scored, again demonstrating his improved patience at the plate.
Twenty at-bats in six games isn’t a full season by any means, but Merrill already has drawn a pair of walks. In 156 games last year, he walked just 29 times, the only real weakness in his offensive profile.
While Merrill acknowledges more patience could lead to better pitches to hit, he also knows you can’t get a hit unless you swing the bat.
“I’m always looking to hit,” he said. “I’m a hitter, not a walker. What can I say?”
Merrill’s teammates more than make up for his willingness to swing. The Padres worked a season-high seven walks Tuesday night, giving them 24 in six games. Despite hitting just four homers, they’re averaging more than five runs per game.
Meanwhile, their pitchers have thrown three shutouts, making them the first team since the 1980 Cincinnati Reds to start 6-0 with three shutouts.
Right-hander Dylan Cease (0-0, 6.23 ERA) will try to keep the roll going in the series finale. He gave up three runs in 4 1/3 innings of Friday night’s 4-3 win over Atlanta. He’s faced Cleveland 13 times in his career, going 6-5 with a 3.57 ERA.
The Guardians will try to avoid a sweep behind right-hander Ben Lively (0-0, 5.40), who started Thursday’s season opener in Kansas City on short notice and delivered a decent outing. He allowed four hits and three runs in five innings during his team’s 7-4, 10-inning win, walking none and striking out three. He lost 2-1 to San Diego last season in his only career outing against the team.
Cleveland will try to square its record at .500 six games into a season-opening nine-game road trip. After taking two of three in Kansas City, the Guardians haven’t played well in any aspect of the game in this series. That includes their two-hit, two-error performance on Tuesday.
Even Jose Ramirez, the Guardians’ best player, wasn’t immune to struggling. He went 0-for-3 Tuesday with a strikeout and dropped a pop-up in the eighth inning, leading to the Padres’ last run.
It was a 180-degree turn from his Monday effort, which saw him collect three hits and his first homer of the year in his return from a wrist injury that forced him to sit out on Sunday.
Teammates aren’t worried about Ramirez.
“He’s our superstar. He’s our guy,” said Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges. “Any time he’s in the lineup, he can win the game by himself.”
–Field Level Media
