Jackson Merrill stole second base in the third inning Tuesday night and kept going. The 22-year-old center fielder later doubled in the eighth inning, moved to third on Manny Machado’s fly ball to left and scored on Xander Bogaerts’ single as the Padres opened up a 4-1 lead.
The steal made Merrill 4-for-4 in attempts this season, a sharp contrast to last year, when injuries limited him to 1-for-3. He missed a month early in 2024 with a hamstring strain, was later sidelined by a concussion and then an ankle sprain. His only steal last year came the day before the hamstring strain sent him to the injured list for the first time in April.
Merrill said the change is no accident. “Completely,” he said when asked if his running game feels different now. Last year, he said, “It was terrible. I want to be aggressive and go. At the same time, I don’t feel like I’m up to speed. I don’t feel like it was a capability of mine to get stolen bases.” This year, he said, “I’ve been stealing bases since I was 5 years old” and “I love stealing. It’s part of the game. It helps teams win. Obviously, it shows.”
Padres manager Craig Stammen said Merrill has been working on it. “We talk about that a lot,” Stammen said, adding, “You know, taking the extra 90 (feet) and using our running game as part of our offense.” He said, “Jackson, it’s been something that he’s been working on and trying to improve this year. Today was a good example of him taking advantage of that and giving us a couple runs.”
The Padres have been searching for ways to keep pressure on opposing defenses, and Merrill’s speed is giving them another route. That matters in a lineup that has also had to keep shifting at the top. Ramón Laureano entered Wednesday hitting.273/.351/.576 with a.927 OPS in eight starts as the Padres’ leadoff hitter and was atop the order again for Game 2 against the Mariners. Stammen said, “You’re just trying to find someone that’s not going fall into a slump when we put him in the leadoff spot, which is kind of what’s happened so far this season until Ramón,” and added, “But we feel really good about him either against right-handed or left-handed pitching.”
Tuesday also put two familiar names on the other side of the field. Ty France and Josh Naylor, both former Padres first basemen with shared history in the organization, each had singles. France was traded to Seattle in the package for catcher Austin Nola, while Naylor was moved to the Guardians in the deal for Mike Clevinger. France made a diving stab to his left in the fifth inning on one of three balls Naylor battled, and Naylor later fielded a 105.2 mph ball off France’s bat and started an unassisted double play.
France said, “Me and Naylor were just going back and forth with each other all game.” He added, “We didn’t talk much (when we were at first base). He can be hard to get some words out of, but I’ll catch up with him (later in the series).” Merrill’s baserunning is the cleaner storyline now: after a 2024 season interrupted by injuries, he is taking the extra base again, and the Padres are benefiting from it right away.
