Jackson Merrill Does It All in Padres’ Stunning Walk-Off Win

San Diego’s bats went cold on Wednesday night—until the ninth inning. Trailing 6-2, the Padres (12-6) erupted for five runs to secure a stunning 7-6 victory over Seattle (8-11).

It was all thanks to the glove and bat of their young phenom, Jackson Merrill.

“That’s what a good team does,” Merrill said. “They don’t give up until the very last out.”

Manny Machado drew a walk to start the ninth, followed by a Gavin Sheets double that moved him to third. Ty France then reached on an infield single to load the bases.

Padres manager Craig Stammen had given Fernando Tatis Jr. a rest day, but in the bottom of the ninth, he called upon him to pinch-hit. Tatis delivered with a sacrifice RBI that brought home Machado and sparked the rally.

“I think we continue having good at bats playing the baseball, we need to be playing like, good things like tonight happen,” Machado said.

Luis Campusano and Ramón Laureano followed with back-to-back singles, bringing home two runs to cut the deficit to 6-5. That set the stage for Merrill, who worked the count before connecting on a shot down the left-field line that barely stayed fair, giving San Diego the walk-off win. Campusano and Laureano’s baserunning proved crucial in the moment.

Eight different batters came to the plate in the inning, completing a historic comeback. It marked the first time since June 7, 2007, that the Padres overcame a four-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth. In that game, they beat the Dodgers after trailing 5-1, winning 6-5.

Wednesday’s walk-off was the Padres’ third in their last six games. Each has come from a different hero—Xander Bogaerts homered in the 12th last Thursday against the Rockies, Sheets followed with one the next night, and now Merrill delivered the latest.

“We’re trying to pass baton,” Stammen explained. “We try to tell the guys every day, it’s not if we’re going to win, but it’s who’s going to be the hero. Tonight it was Jackson. Honestly, if you looked out in that whole inning, there’s a lot of heroes in that inning, in that game.”

Bogaerts was one of those heroes, playing a key role in the comeback well before the ninth inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Padres offense showed signs of life. With just two hits entering the inning, Merrill singled before Bogaerts launched his third home run of the season to left-center, cutting the deficit to 6-2. His 200th career home run proved crucial in the game’s turning point.

“He’s been the X-Factor,” Merrill said. “I know it’s kind of corny to say, but Xander is raking it. It really juices up a team. Shout out to him. He’s been on fire.”

Earlier in the game, Merrill made his presence felt defensively.

In the top of the third, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh doubled to put himself in scoring position. Moments later, Julio Rodríguez sent a deep drive to center field that had Petco Park holding its breath. Merrill tracked it down and made a leaping catch over the wall to rob a home run.

“That was an amazing catch,” Stammen said. “I told him that was the best one he’s ever had.”

The Padres center fielder agreed.

“100% best catch I ever made,” Merrill said. “Foot to the left, I couldn’t have got it and I kind of brought it back. It was just beyond the fence.”

Machado took it up a notch.

“That’s definitely up there, man,” Machado said. “I think starting off the game with Jackson robbing that homer. Later him walking it off and winning it. So that’s pretty epic.”

Before going on the road against Boston and Pittsburgh, Stammen’s Padres were 2-4. After a 7-1 win over the Giants, he said, “This was probably an outlier week for us.”

In what is still a short managerial tenure, he may have been right.

The Padres (12-6) are now one of the hottest teams in baseball, riding a seven-game winning streak and having won 11 of their last 13 games.

“Sticking to the game plan and eventually things were gonna turn around and look how things are going now,” Machado said after the game. “We control how we go out there, we prepare and we execute some of those game plans that we’ve been doing, and we’ve been doing a good job with this. So let’s just continue doing that.”

The Padres will look to sweep the Mariners in the series finale before heading up the I-5 to Anaheim on Thursday night, when Walker Buehler is set to face Luis Castillo at 5:40 p.m.

Fermin Injury

Padres catcher Freddy Fermin left the game in the top of the third inning after being hit in the mask by a foul ball. Luis Campusano replaced him.

Stammen said after the game it wasn’t a concussion, but noted that could change. The team will reevaluate him Thursday to determine his availability moving forward.

Pivetta Update

Last Sunday brought a concerning moment for Padres fans when starting pitcher Nick Pivetta injured his throwing shoulder.

He was placed on the 15-day IL on Tuesday, and Stammen provided an update on Wednesday.

“It’s probably going to be more weeks and maybe months than it is just specific days,” Stammen said before the game.

Pivetta will refrain from throwing for now before gradually working his way back. Stammen described the injury as a flexor strain in the elbow.