Merrill’s Late HR Not Enough as Padres Fall to Giants 3-2
· Yahoo Sports
Jackson Merrill tried to will his team to victory on Monday night, launching a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
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It was too little, too late, as the San Francisco Giants carried a 3-0 lead into the final frame and held on for a 3-2 victory despite Merrill’s late heroics.
“It was good to see him commit to a plan against a certain pitcher and then execute it and put one in the seats,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said on Merrill.
Outside of Merrill’s home run, the Padres managed just two hits over the first eight innings, continuing their early-season offensive struggles. The loss drops San Diego to 1-3 on the season tied with the Giants.
It was a rough debut for Padres pitcher Walker Buehler, still an odd sentence to write, who went four innings, allowing five hits, three runs, and one home run while striking out three.
“I think when you're in good counts, you get good luck, and when you're in bad counts, you don’t,” Buehler said. “That's 100% within my control. So, a cool environment, and obviously exciting to be here. But at the end of the day, I got to be better than that.”
Meanwhile, Giants pitcher Landen Roupp dominated, tossing six innings of two-hit baseball while striking out seven.
“Attribute him to making a lot of good pitches,” Stammen said. “Look like he had a good sinker going 95 mile an hour with a good sweeper, and then he had his change up and his cutter that he used a little bit more than we were expecting. He did a pretty good job.”
Mar 30, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Francisco Giants first baseman Casey Schmitt (10), left, Matt Chapman (26), center, and Harrison Bader (9) high-five after the Giants beat the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Mar 30, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Francisco Giants first baseman Casey Schmitt (10), left, Matt Chapman (26), center, and Harrison Bader (9) high-five after the Giants beat the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
Entering Monday’s matchup, the Giants had scored just one run in 27 innings against the New York Yankees, but they found enough offense early against San Diego.
Buehler was sharp through the first two innings, retiring all six batters he faced. However, things unraveled in the third.
On his fourth pitch of the inning, Harrison Bader crushed a knuckle-curve 408 feet to left-center field for the Giants’ first home run of the season. Buehler managed to limit further damage in the inning.
The fourth inning proved more costly. Matt Chapman led off with a single and moved to second after Jung Hoo Lee drew a walk. Patrick Bailey followed by ripping a changeup into left field, scoring Chapman to make it 2-0.
The next batter, San Diego native Casey Schmitt, added another RBI single to left, bringing home Lee and extending the lead to 3-0.
Right now, the Padres are struggling to find their identity. Through four games, they have just 23 hits and nine runs. After facing a strong Detroit pitching staff, they followed it up with another underwhelming performance against Roupp.
San Diego has been outscored 16-9 to start the season, and frustration was evident at Petco Park, with fans heading for the exits as early as the seventh inning.
Only positive seems to be the Padres bullpen.
“Doesn't matter who we throw in there putting up zeros right now,” Stammen said. “I think we've only given up two runs total on the season out of the pen, and those guys are all throwing the ball really well. So, it's nice for me to be able to rely on about anybody down there.”
The Padres will look to bounce back Tuesday night when Germán Márquez faces Logan Webb at 6:40 p.m. PT.