Jackson Merrill had a strong game, getting 3 hits out of 5 at-bats and driving in two runs with a single during a big sixth-run inning as the San Diego Padres beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-3 on Monday night.
The game showcased two highly regarded 20-year-old rookies named Jackson – San Diego’s Merrill and Milwaukee’s Chourio – both making significant contributions.
Chourio went 2 for 4, hitting a home run and scoring twice. His two-run homer in the second inning gave the Brewers an early 3-0 lead.
The Padres were behind 3-1 before their surprising burst in the fifth inning. The rally didn’t include any extra-base hits but featured six singles, a walk, a passed ball, catcher’s interference, and a violation of the pitch clock.
“We just took advantage of the opportunities and put together a lot of good at-bats as a team, resulting in a big score to help us take the lead,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “And we managed to maintain it.”
After consecutive singles loaded the bases to start the inning, the Brewers held a mound meeting but decided to keep starting pitcher Joe Ross in the game.
Fernando Tatis Jr.’s groundout brought home one run, followed by another run scored on a passed ball by catcher William Contreras.
Jake Cronenworth reached on catcher’s interference, loading the bases again before Manny Machado’s infield single brought in the go-ahead run.
“I had the ball in my glove already when he made contact with me, so I don’t think that should be interference,” Contreras said through a translator about the catcher’s interference call. “But that’s baseball and that’s the rules that are in play.”
Ross had a pitch-clock violation, loading the bases once more. Merrill singled home two runs, and Campusano added an RBI single before Ross left with the Padres leading 7-3. “Just a lot of good approaches, guys with the right swings, right ideas,” Shildt said.
Milwaukee rallied in the ninth inning, bringing the tying run to the plate with two outs and nobody on. After Oliver Dunn got an infield single and Stephen Kolek walked Chourio, Contreras got another infield hit, putting the pressure on the Padres.
