Rookie Jackson Merrill hit a three-run homer that traveled 440 feet to center field, celebrating with a matching bat flip as the San Diego Padres defeated the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers 6-4 on Saturday for their fourth consecutive win.
Ha-Seong Kim and Kyle Higashioka also hit home runs for the Padres, who improved their record above .500 and aim for a four-game sweep on Sunday.
San Diego was close to a shutout victory until Jhony Brito loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth inning, allowing Brice Turang to hit a grand slam to left field. Robert Suarez entered the game and secured the final out, earning his 19th save of the season.
The 21-year-old Merrill now has a total of 10 home runs, including seven in his last 10 games. His recent hot streak began with two homers, one of them a walk-off, in a 5-4 win against Oakland on June 12.
Merrill’s homer on Saturday, hit in the fourth inning with one out, marked the longest of his career, surpassing the 411-foot shot he hit against Jose Quintana of the New York Mets on June 15.
Reflecting on his home run distance, Merrill said, “I don’t think I’ve ever looked at distance because if it goes over the fence, it’s a homer. If it was 330 or 440 feet, whatever, it counts the same. I thought I’d hit some balls harder than that. They just haven’t carried as much because night games here are a little difficult. I’m just trying to put the barrel on the ball.”
After hitting the homer, Merrill initially carried his bat with him during his trot while watching the ball sail over the fence, then tossed it aside. He finished the game with three hits.
“I’m just learning to take my shots and when not to,” Merrill commented. “We had two guys and one out, in that situation, first and second, you’ve got to try to drive somebody in.”
Manager Mike Shildt expressed his confidence in Merrill’s recent power surge, saying, “When you have an efficient swing, you grow into your power. One of the things I first saw with Jackson was a guy that had a really good swing and an idea of how to use it, which can be rare, period, but also rare at a younger age.”
