Fastball

San Diego Padres Rookie Ties Hall of Famer in Baseball History with Latest Blast

The San Diego Padres beat the Miami Marlins on Friday night, but it required a historic blast from rookie Jackson Merrill to do it.

Brady Farkas

San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) celebrates his home run in front of Miami Marlins catcher Ali Sanchez (47) in the ninth inning at loanDepot Park on Aug 9.
San Diego Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill (3) celebrates his home run in front of Miami Marlins catcher Ali Sanchez (47) in the ninth inning at loanDepot Park on Aug 9. / Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports
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The San Diego Padres beat the Miami Marlins 6-2 on Friday night to run their record to 65-52 on the season. With that win, they are currently the top team in the National League wild card race.

Though a win over the Marlins is expected, how the Padres got there required some grit and toughness. Down 2-0 in the top of the eighth inning, the Padres scored once in the eighth and once in the ninth to force extra-innings, where they scored four times in the top half of the tenth.

Rookie Jackson Merrill stayed hot, going 3-for-4 with a triple, the game-tying homer in the ninth, a run scored and two RBI. He's now hitting .294 for the year and likely would win the National League Rookie of the Year if not for Pirates' rookie Paul Skenes.

His home run also tied some incredible baseball history, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

AMAZING update from @EliasSports:

Jackson Merrill has 4 game-tying or go-ahead HR in the 9th inning or later this season, tied for most in a season at age 21 or younger all-time, with:

1929 Mel Ott

!!!

Merrill, who is just 21 years old, made the roster out of spring training, helping provide the Padres depth in the outfield after trading away Juan Soto and Trent Grisham. In addition to his .294 average, he's got 16 homers and 62 RBI. He also has 13 stolen bases and an .807 OPS. He was a first-round pick of the Padres in the 2021 draft out of the Maryland high school ranks.

As for Ott, he was a 22-year veteran who hit 511 home runs, all with the Giants.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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