Merrill is absent from Saturday's lineup against the Diamondbacks.
Merrill will get some additional rest Saturday with the Padres locked into a playoff spot, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Brandon Lockridge will start in center field and bat eighth.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Homers in Monday's win
Rotowire
Merrill went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Monday's 3-1 win over the Astros.
Merrill has broken out of a recent slump by logging multiple hits in three of his last four games. The rookie is batting .295 (26-for-88) with seven homers over his last 24 contests. He's up to a .290/.322/.504 slash line with 24 homers, 86 RBI, 74 runs scored and 16 stolen bases through 146 contests overall. His well-rounded production and relatively good health have him firmly in the NL Rookie of the Year conversation.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Racks up three hits in win
Rotowire
Merrill went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored in Friday's 5-0 win over the Giants.
Merrill entered Friday in a 1-for-18 slump over his last six games, but he was able to break out of it as one of four Padres to log multiple hits. The 21-year-old has recorded 13 games with three or more hits this year, and he has multiple extra-base hits in six of them. He's up to a .289/.321/.498 slash line with 23 home runs, 83 RBI, 73 runs scored, 16 stolen bases, 25 doubles and six triples over 143 contests, despite being a rookie who skipped Triple-A.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Good to go Sunday
Rotowire
Merrill (knee) is starting in center field and batting seventh Sunday against the Giants.
The 21-year-old was held out of Saturday's lineup after fouling a ball off his knee Friday, but he'll return to action for Sunday's series finale. Merrill is in a bit of a mini-slump, as he's gone 0-for-8 with two strikeouts in his past three games.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: On bench again
Rotowire
Merrill (knee) is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Giants.
Merrill suffered a patella contusion Friday after fouling a ball off his knee and he'll get the night off to rest and recover Saturday. X-rays on his knee came back negative, but it wouldn't be surprising to see the Padres play it safe with the 21-year-old and hold him out through Monday's off day.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Suffers patella contusion
Rotowire
Merrill exited Friday's game after fouling a ball off his knee, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Merrill suffered the injury in the sixth inning but stayed in the game for an additional frame. He underwent X-rays after the game, which came back clean. The Padres may play it safe with the rookie, but Merrill appears to have avoided a serious injury.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Three hits, game-winning run in win
Rotowire
Merrill went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run and two runs scored in Wednesday's extra-inning win over Detroit.
Merrill tallied hits in each of his first two at-bats, including a three-run homer off Keider Montero in the fourth to put the Padres on the board. The rookie outfielder would also add a ground rule double in the seventh before later scoring the game-winning run on a walk-off single from Fernando Tatis in the bottom of the 10th. Merrill continues to swing a hot bat and has now homered in three of his last six games, posting seven RBI and four runs over that stretch. He's also hit safely in 10 of his last 12 contests, while the long ball was his 22nd of the campaign.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Goes deep Sunday
Rotowire
Merrill went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in a 4-3 win against Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Merrill broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning with his two-run shot to center field. The long ball sent him off on a strong start to September after the rookie outfielder slashed .303/.343/.626 with seven home runs, 23 RBI, 18 runs and five steals in August. Per Sammy Levitt of 97.3 The Fan, Merrill's 79 RBI on the campaign are tied with Benito Santiago for the most by a rookie in Padres franchise history.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Goes deep in loss
Rotowire
Merrill went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in a loss to the Twins on Wednesday.
Merrill's two-run blast in the eighth inning didn't have much of an impact on the outcome of the contest, as San Diego still trailed by six runs after the long ball. However, it snapped an eight-game homerless stretch for the rookie and pushed him to 18 home runs and 71 RBI on the campaign. Merrill is working on a modest six-game hitting streak during which he's batting .375 (9-for-24) with five extra-base hits and seven RBI.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Drives in three runs in victory
Rotowire
Merrill went 1-for-4 with a double and three RBI in Monday's 5-3 win against Minnesota.
Merrill broke a 2-2 tie with a bases-clearing triple in the third inning. The rookie continues to rake, as he's batting .315 (17-for-54) with 10 extra-base hits (four homers, three doubles and three triples) along with 15 RBI through 15 games in August. Paul Skenes remains the favorite for Rookie of the Year honors in the National League, but Merrill could give him a run down the stretch, as he's now at a .290/.321/.484 slash line, 17 long balls, 69 RBI, 61 runs and 13 stolen bases over 458 plate appearances on the campaign.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Hits another clutch homer
Rotowire
Merrill went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk Sunday in a 9-8 extra-inning victory against Miami.
One day after hitting a game-tying homer in the ninth frame, Merrill belted a big two-run shot in the eighth inning to tie the score 7-7. The rookie outfielder has been incredibly clutch for the Padres, as four of his 17 long balls have either tied the game or given San Diego the lead in the ninth inning or later. Merrill has also been very hot of late, going deep four times in his past four contests and slashing .388/.416/.776 with five home runs, 18 RBI, 18 runs and three stolen base over his past 18 games.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Slugs two homers in dramatic win
Rotowire
Merrill went 4-for-6 with two home runs, three total runs and three total RBI in Wednesday's 9-8 extra-inning victory over Pittsburgh.
Merrill put the Padres on the board with a 442-foot solo shot in the second inning. The game went back and forth from there, with the rookie outfielder adding an RBI single in the fifth, but the Pirates carried a one-run lead into the top of the ninth frame. Pittsburgh closer David Bednar attempted to hold the Padres at bay, but Merrill tied the score with a one-out solo shot to center field. For good measure, Merrill was also a participant in what turned out to be the game-winning run in the top of the 10th, as his flyout to left field resulted in Xander Bogaerts scoring on an error by Pirates catcher Yasmani Grandal. Merrill now has a trio of four-hit performances in a fantastic rookie campaign during which he's posted a .288/.318/.467 slash line, 15 homers, 59 RBI, 54 runs and 11 stolen bases through 112 contests.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Delivers clutch home run
Rotowire
Merrill went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's win over the Dodgers.
Merrill's only hit of the night came at quite an opportune time. Blake Treinen had already given up a homer to Manny Machado to lead off the inning and he then left a hanging cutter which Merrill took full advantage of to tie the game up in the ninth. The long ball was Merrill's first since June 29 and he now has 13 hits, seven RBI and eight runs over his last nine games. Merrill is tied for the National League lead among rookies with 13 homers and leads all rookies with 105 hits. He's slashing .284/.315/.449 with 53 RBI, 48 runs, 11 steals and a 17:74 BB:K in 393 plate appearances.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Plates three runs Friday
Rotowire
Merrill went 1-for-4 with a triple and three RBI in a 10-8 win against Arizona on Friday.
Merrill knocked in San Diego's first run on a groundout in the second inning and added a two-run triple in the fourth. The outfielder also put an end to a streak of three games in which he had struck out multiple times. Despite that recent stretch, punchouts haven't been a problem for Merrill in the majors -- he has a very tolerable 17.0 percent strikeout rate through 323 plate appearances. The rookie is proving to be a capable big-league hitter, slashing .289/.321/.456 with 12 home runs, 46 RBI, 40 runs and 10 stolen bases through 88 games.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Moves up to No. 3 spot
Rotowire
Merrill will start in center field and bat third in Thursday's game versus the Rangers.
Merrill had one start out of the leadoff spot back in mid-April and batted fifth a couple times last month, but this will be his first-ever start from the third spot in the Padres' batting order. The rookie outfielder has earned the assignment by slashing a robust .352/.380/.727 with nine home runs, 21 RBI and two stolen bases over his last 23 games. Jake Cronenworth has typically hit third since Fernando Tatis (quad) went down and has a day off Thursday, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Merrill receive more opportunities from the middle of the San Diego batting order.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Records 10th steal
Rotowire
Merrill went 2-for-5 with one RBI and one stolen base in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Rangers.
Merrill stole his first base since June 9. Over the 20 games between thefts, the rookie outfielder impressed, hitting .347 with nine home runs, 19 RBI and 14 runs scored. For the season, he's at a .293/.326/.458 slash line with 12 homers, 10 steals, 43 RBI and 39 runs scored over 86 contests while taking on a near-everyday role in center field.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Wraps up huge June with three hits
Rotowire
Merrill went 3-for-4 with a double and a run in Sunday's loss to Boston.
Merrill was the only Padre to notch multiple hits in the contest, and he scored the team's only run after belting a one-out double in the seventh inning. The rookie finished June with back-to-back three-hit games, with half of his knocks during the pair of contests going for extra bases. Merrill swung a hot bat for most of the month, and he finished June with a .320/.346/.650 slash line along with nine home runs, 20 RBI, 17 runs and two stolen bases.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Continues power surge
Rotowire
Merrill went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, an additional RBI and a double in an 11-1 rout of the Red Sox on Saturday.
Merrill increased San Diego's lead to 4-0 with a fourth-inning solo blast and capped the scoring in the contest with an RBI double in the eighth. The rookie has homered in back-to-back contests and in half of his past 10 games. Extended further, Merrill's power surge has included nine long balls over his past 16 contests, and he's slashing .333/.365/.817 with 18 RBI and 12 runs during that stretch.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Slugs 11th homer
Rotowire
Merrill went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Friday's 9-2 win over the Red Sox.
The rookie capped San Diego's improbable nine-run fifth inning by sending a Greg Weissert fastball over the fence in straightaway center field. Merrill's power has emerged as the weather has heated up -- while his 11 homers through 82 games is already good for a 21-year-old in his first MLB campaign, eight of those long balls have come in his last 15 contests, a stretch in which he's batting .309 (17-for-55) with 11 runs and 16 RBI.
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Padres' Jackson Merrill: Homers, reaches four times
Rotowire
Merrill went 3-for-3 with a three-run homer and a walk in Saturday's win over Milwaukee.
Merrill singled in his first at-bat before crushing a three-run shot off Carlos Rodriguez in the fourth to put San Diego on the board. The shortstop would reach four times on the night and has now recorded multiple hits in three of his last four games. He's also homered in three of his last four and in seven of his last 10 while posting at least one RBI in four straight.
