Jackson Merrill put on a two-act masterpiece Wednesday night in San Diego — first denying Julio Rodriguez a home run with a leaping grab over the center-field wall, then lashing a walk-off two-run double that capped a five-run ninth inning and handed the Padres a 7-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
San Diego’s seventh consecutive win was also its most improbable. The Padres entered the final frame trailing by four runs. They hadn’t pulled off a ninth-inning comeback from a deficit that steep since June 14, 2019. And yet, by the time Merrill’s line drive landed in left field, Petco Park had erupted.
“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?'” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “Tonight, it was Jackson.”
The rally started when Mariners reliever Andres Munoz (2-2) loaded the bases to open the ninth. Fernando Tatis Jr. came off the bench and drove in the first run with a sacrifice fly. Two outs later, the Padres still trailed — but Luis Campusano and Ramon Laureano cracked consecutive RBI singles to cut it to 6-5. Seattle turned to Jose A. Ferrer. Five pitches into the appearance, Merrill ended it.
“I just kind of threw the barrel at it and prayed,” Merrill said.
Impressive as the walk-off was, his defensive gem in the third inning might have mattered just as much. Rodriguez launched a deep fly to center that looked destined for the seats, but Merrill timed his jump perfectly, extending his glove just beyond the fence to haul it in and erase what would have been a two-run homer.
“One hundred percent, that’s the best catch I’ve ever made,” Merrill said.
Stammen was blunt: “Play of the game. That kept us in it.”
For most of the evening, Seattle appeared firmly in control. Randy Arozarena singled, stole second, and later scored on Luke Raley’s two-run blast that pushed the Mariners’ lead to 6-0 in the fifth. Raley finished with a career-high four hits, including a double, while Dominic Canzone and Brendan Donovan each drove in two. Emerson Hancock was sharp through six innings for the Mariners, surrendering just two runs and fanning six.
The Padres chipped away gradually. Xander Bogaerts — now the owner of 200 career home runs, 45 of them in San Diego — pulled the hosts within striking distance with a two-run shot in the sixth. Bogaerts, Laureano, Merrill, and Gavin Sheets each collected two hits on the night. Starter Randy Vasquez struggled, yielding four runs on five hits in four innings with four walks and six strikeouts, but reliever Alek Jacob (1-0) kept the deficit manageable. He tossed two scoreless frames for his second career victory.
San Diego has now won 10 of its last 11 games, with three walk-off victories sprinkled through the current streak. For the Mariners, it was the kind of loss that lingers — a four-run cushion dissolved over the span of nine batters.
“That is what a good team does,” Merrill said. “They don’t give up until the very last out.”