Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill have endured up-and-down seasons at the plate.
The San Diego Padres’ most recent game showed a glimpse of what the team’s offense can look like if both players are swinging hot bats.
The Padres will look for more good things from Tatis and Merrill when they open a three-game series against the Texas Rangers on Friday in Arlington, Texas.
San Diego is coming off a 6-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday. The Padres salvaged a victory in the finale of the three-game series and improved to 3-3 on a road trip that will conclude with the trio of games in Texas.
Tatis drove in a pair of runs and Merrill belted a two-run homer in the latest win, with each providing three hits.
“You get two of those guys going at the same time and that produces some runs,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “That’s what we’ve been lacking a little bit. We’ve been hitting OK, but we just haven’t been able to score the runs.
“Getting those two guys hot, being able to hit in those types of situations which they’re really good in typically, it’s only going to bode well for our offense.”
In his past 22 games, Tatis is hitting .376 (35-for-93) with two homers and 10 RBIs. Over his previous 50 games to start the year, he batted .238 (44-for-185) with no homers and 16 RBIs.
Merrill is batting a modest .260 (20-for-77) with four home runs and 11 RBIs since May 27, but that’s still an improvement on his prior figures this season: .194 (37-for-191) with four homers and 19 RBIs in 51 games.
Meanwhile, the Rangers are desperate for a spark at the plate and a good performance on the mound. They will try to bounce back from a three-game sweep at the hands of the visiting Minnesota Twins, who outscored them 25-7 in the series.
Texas manager Skip Schumaker said slow starts have cost his team in recent losses. The Rangers allowed four runs in the top of the first inning during a 9-3 loss Thursday afternoon.
“The first inning, I don’t know if it’s becoming a thing like mentally, maybe,” Schumaker said. “But it’s something that we’ve got to continue to address because we’re playing from behind too often, and it’s tough to play catch-up.
“… We have to clean up a lot of different areas. The good news is we have the talent to do it, but we can’t continue to start games like that.”
Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom (5-4, 3.17 ERA) is scheduled to make the start on his 38th birthday. He has 89 strikeouts in 76 2/3 innings this season.
In his most recent outing, deGrom drew a no-decision on Saturday despite limiting the Boston Red Sox to two runs on six hits in six innings. He walked none and fanned five.
In 10 career starts against San Diego, deGrom is 6-3 with a stellar 1.28 ERA to go with 12 walks and 82 strikeouts in 70 1/3 innings. However, he hasn’t opposed the Padres since 2021.
San Diego is set to counter with Randy Vasquez (6-4, 3.63 ERA). The 27-year-old right-hander is looking for back-to-back victories after holding the Baltimore Orioles to two runs on six hits in five innings on Saturday.
Vasquez has made one career start against the Rangers, last July 4 in San Diego. He wound up with a no-decision but posted a quality start by allowing two runs on three hits in six innings.
–Field Level Media
