In response with a decisive two-run shot after receiving a nine-year 1974 billion hit, SD New Signage Day, the team's opening record of seven consecutive wins

Apr 03, 2025

In response with a decisive two-run shot after receiving a nine-year 1974 billion hit, SD New Signage Day, the team's opening record of seven consecutive wins
San Diego Padres Jackson Merrill hits a two-run home run in the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Petco Park on the 3rd (Korea time) and makes a half-five with his teammates. AP Yonhap News



In response with a decisive two-run shot after receiving a nine-year 1974 billion hit, SD New Signage Day, the team's opening record of seven consecutive wins
Jackson Merrill hits a two-run homer in the third inning and is delighted with Manny Machado. AFP Yonhap News
It's a sensation that no one expected. The San Diego Padres have won the opening seven consecutive games, strongly threatening the strongest LA Dodgers.

San Diego won the final game of the three consecutive home games against the Cleveland Guardians at Petco Park on the 3rd (Korea time) thanks to starter Dylan Sheese's good pitching and rookie star Jackson Merrill's home run.

San Diego, which has held four consecutive games including the opening game against the Atlanta Braves and three consecutive games against Cleveland on the 28th of last month, has won seven consecutive games, the most since its foundation in 1969. The previous record in this category was four consecutive wins in 1984, when he finished second in the World Series. San Diego averaged 5.14 points and 1.57 runs in seven games, showing off a perfect batting balance.




San Diego took the lead by scoring four runs in the bottom of the third inning with Merrill's home run. After one out, Fernando Tatis Jr.'s infield hit to third base, and Luis Arraez's left-handed hit to get the chance to first and third base. Manny Macha also scored the first run with Tatis and Araez making a double steal at the plate. Then, taking advantage of third baseman Jose Ramirez's throwing error following Machado's infield hit to the third base, Araez homered and led 2-0.

Merrill, who took the batter's box, then pulled Cleveland starter Ben Lively's 76.1-mile curveball into the middle of the first pitch and connected it with a two-run shot that went well over the right-center fence, widening the gap to 4-0. Meryl's second home run of the season with a powerful 108.5 mile batting speed.

In response with a decisive two-run shot after receiving a nine-year 1974 billion hit, SD New Signage Day, the team's opening record of seven consecutive wins
Jackson Merrill hits a left-handed hit in the bottom of the fifth inning. AFP Yonhap News
In response with a decisive two-run shot after receiving a nine-year 1974 billion hit, SD New Signage Day, the team's opening record of seven consecutive wins
San Diego starter Dylan Shees. AP Yonhap News
It is no exaggeration to say that the game was decided in the fourth inning, given that the starter was Ace Siz. San Diego sealed the game with a solo home run by Araez in the bottom of the seventh inning with a 4-1 lead. Arraez hit left-hander Tim Herrin's body slider to draw his first arch of the season, the first time in 36 games since the game against the New York Mets on August 24 last year.

Closer Robert Suarez stayed solid with three innings in the ninth inning and secured his victory, making his third save of the season.

Sizu gave up four hits and one walk in six ⅓ innings and earned his first win of the season with seven strikeouts and one run. On the 29th of last month, Siz was sluggish in four ½ innings with four hits, two walks, seven strikeouts, and two runs against Atlanta.

Merrill, the fourth batter who led the victory, had two hits, two RBIs and a run in four at-bats, including a decisive home run. With a batting average of 0.417 (10 hits in 24 at-bats), two homers, eight RBIs, five runs scored, and an OPS of 1.152 in seven games of the season, it is no exaggeration to say that Merrill stood tall as San Diego's leading hitter in name and reality.




In particular, Merrill signed a nine-year, ultra-long extension before the game, setting the stage for a long run in San Diego.

In response with a decisive two-run shot after receiving a nine-year 1974 billion hit, SD New Signage Day, the team's opening record of seven consecutive wins
Jackson Merrill finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year vote last year. AFP Yonhap News
ESPN said `San Diego and All-Star outfielder Merrill agreed to a nine-year, $135 million contract. The contract term is 2026-2034' and reports that the contract has a club option of $30 million for the 10th year, and the total amount could be up to $204 million'

Initially, he was eligible for salary adjustment after the 2026 season and became an FA at the end of the 2029 season. In the end, this contract will cover up to five years after the FA. Born in April 2003, Meryl is 22 years old this year.

San Diego, which did not catch Kim Ha-sung, who was released as an FA last winter, reaffirmed the club's policy of signing a long-term contract without hesitation for a player with a clear performance. Merrill is the fifth player to sign more than $100 million in San Diego after Manny Machado ($350 million for 11 years), Fernando Tatis Jr. ($340 million for 14 years), Xander Bogaerts ($280 million for 11 years), and Darvish Yu ($108 million for 6 years).

Merrill, who joined after being drafted by San Diego as the 27th overall pick in the first round of the 2021 draft, made his big league debut in the opening two consecutive games against the Dodgers at Gocheok Sky Dome last year and played 156 games, marking a batting average of 0.292 (162 hits in 554 at-bats), 24 home runs, 90 RBIs, 77 runs, 16 steals, and 0.826 OPS. The bWAR 4.4 was the number one in the team.

As soon as he made his debut, he was named an All-Star and was also named NL outfielder Silver Slugger. Ranked second in the NL Rookie of the Year vote, it would have been Merrill without the Pittsburgh Pirates Polskins.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.