SAN DIEGO — History, futility and slivers of hope could all be found Wednesday at Petco Park.
Left-hander Cristopher Sánchez spun seven innings to establish the Philadelphia Phillies’ longest single-season scoreless streak since at least 1893, when baseball’s current mound distance was established. The San Diego Padres lost 3-0, absorbing a three-game sweep and their third shutout defeat of a nine-game homestand that saw them finish with only 19 runs. Moments before Sánchez roared as he strode off the mound for the last time, Jackson Merrill struck a fly-ball double to seal his best performance in weeks.
Amid relative desolation, Merrill went 2-for-3 off Sánchez, perhaps the early favorite for the National League Cy Young Award. It was the Padres center fielder’s first multi-hit performance since May 5. Over the previous 17 games, he had descended into the worst slump of his professional career, batting .102 with three extra-base hits and 20 strikeouts.
An afternoon that wasn’t all bad still brought a parting reminder. With San Diego down to its final strike, Merrill popped out against reliever José Alvarado.
Two years after he made a precocious debut, the greatest source of hope in a struggling offense is hitting .200 with a .589 OPS. Meanwhile, the 31-24 Padres — who entered their homestand only a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers — are tied with the surging Arizona Diamondbacks for second place in the National League West.
“I felt great, but obviously, the main goal wasn’t accomplished,” Merrill said. “So, just keep working.”
After starring offensively for much of his first two seasons, Jackson Merrill is hitting .200 with a .589 OPS. (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
In 2024, Merrill was the NL’s best rookie hitter and an immediate All-Star. In 2025, he signed a nine-year, $135 million contract extension. In October, after a regular season marred by injuries, he homered in the Padres’ final game of the year as his teammates slumped around him.
Yet, in 2026, Merrill has been part of the problem for a club weighed down by the underperformance of its stars. The league is littered with flawed teams, and the Padres, for now, still have some cushion in the standings. At the same time, the youngest player in the lineup is attempting to strike a balance with his struggles.
“I don’t really want to present myself in the clubhouse and be kind of like a problem,” Merrill said before Wednesday’s game. “I don’t want to affect anybody else’s performance, so I’m pretty patient, pretty (keep) to myself about everything kind of going on. I’m working my ass off to get back to a point I want to be at.”
Is the Padres’ record influencing his urgency to course-correct?
“I’ve felt urgency to get out of it for a while now,” Merrill said. “You know, it could be more than eight games above .500, so I don’t know. I just want to get out of this as soon as possible and obviously stay as patient as I can.”
Patience at the plate has not come naturally. As a rookie, Merrill hit .292 with 24 home runs and a 34.5 percent chase rate that was comfortably above the major-league average. He swung outside the strike zone even more often last year, when he contended with a hamstring strain, a concussion and an ankle sprain. He embarked on his third season, aiming for more walks, more contact and more power.
Two months in, he is walking more but also chasing pitches roughly as often as before. His production and his underlying numbers have plummeted.
“It’s one of those situations where, like, ‘I’m going to be really stingy right here.’ Then he takes one down the middle, and then the next one he swings at the dirt,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said late Tuesday. “And it’s ‘Don’t swing, don’t swing,’ and all of a sudden you’re swinging.”
The next day, Stammen sought to ease the pressure on the 23-year-old. Merrill was scheduled to bat seventh for the first time this season. In the morning, he sat near the middle of the home clubhouse, quietly working on a crossword puzzle.
Later, he discussed his conundrum in the left-handed batter’s box.
“I don’t know,” Merrill said. “It’s just like ups and downs. I feel good in some spots, and I’m not getting hits, and I feel bad in some spots, and I’m getting hits. And it’s like wanting to get on the same page as, honestly, myself. Be one person at the plate the entire time. Go up with a good approach every time and execute.”
His season has not been all bad. He’d already robbed four home runs since Opening Day. The advanced metrics said he has easily been the Padres’ best baserunner.
“I feel like I’ve improved in a lot of areas,” Merrill said. “Just want the bat to come back and all will be well, honestly. I think it’s huge for the team, too. I feel like I lead by example, and I need to start doing that again.”
In the afternoon, he did what he could. He fell behind 0-2 in his first at-bat, then inside-outed a single to left field. He grounded out the other way in his second at-bat, stranding a runner at second. He turned on a Sánchez changeup — one of baseball’s deadliest pitches — in his third at-bat, sending a one-out double into the right-field corner.
The Padres stranded him, too. They finished the game 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-their-last-35 in those situations.
“I feel like we did a good job getting on base, getting stuff started,” Merrill said afterward. “We just couldn’t capitalize, I feel like, kind of all series.”
The most obvious suspects, all season, have been the Padres’ highest-paid hitters. Right fielder and second baseman Fernando Tatis Jr., 27, remains without a home run. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, 33, has cooled off after a promising start. Third baseman Manny Machado, also 33, has an OPS that ranks 152nd among 168 qualifying big leaguers.
So, now and in the future, Merrill represents a potential bulwark against a precipitous decline of the team’s veteran core. But his current OPS ranks 157th. Could his latest showing have been the start of a positive regression?
“I hope (so). For me, too,” Machado said after twice flying out to the warning track. “We’re starting to feel it as a group overall, so we’ve got to pick up the slack. And I know Jackson, how he is, that he’s doing everything he can to get back on that path.”
Wednesday, there were a few slivers.
“That opposite-field single, when he first came up, that’s what his bread and butter was,” Stammen said. “I think a little bit of that mindset of getting back to that, and … hopefully, he’s trending in the right direction and that’s good news for the Padres.”