RADIO
Jackson Merrill Tweaks his Back on Wednesday, Pulled Early
San Diego Padres outfielder Jackson Merrill (back) appeared to tweak his back while leaping up against the fence while going after Shohei Ohtani's leadoff home run in the first inning at Petco Park in Wednesday's series finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers and was pulled from the game, according to Alden Gonzalez of ESPN. Merrill struck out in his only plate appearance before being replaced in center field by Bryce Johnson in the fifth inning. The Padres can ill-afford an injury to one of their best hitters and best defenders. For now, we'll consider Merrill day-to-day, but we should have a better idea of his status going forward after he undergoes some imaging. San Diego has a scheduled day off on Thursday before starting a three-game series against the Athletics on Friday night, but Merrill might not be ready to go for that one. If Merrill is forced to miss significant time, Johnson would likely see an uptick in playing time in center field, which would be a massive downgrade for the Friars. Merrill has yet to repeat his strong rookie season in 2024, when he hit 24 homers, drove in 90, and stole 16 bases, and he entered Wednesday's contest with a weak .205/.275/.324 slash line, four homers, 19 RBI, nine steals, and 23 runs in 46 games.
Source: ESPN.com - Alden Gonzalez
Source: ESPN.com - Alden Gonzalez
