San Diego Padres centerfielder Jackson Merrill made an incredible catch but it was wasted in a loss to the Detroit Tigers at Petco Park.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 27: Jackson Merrill #3 of the San Diego Padres makes a jumping catch during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Petco Park on March 27, 2026 in San Diego, California. Before we begin with the results of Friday night's game between the San Diego Padres and Detroit Tigers, if you haven't seen it yet, just watch this catch by Jackson Merrill.
It's the second game of the year and we already have a Catch of the Year candidate. Merrill leaped well over the wall in right-centerfield to rob Tigers rookie Kevin McGonigle of a home run in the 2nd inning and giving 44,896 fans at Petco Park a thrill. Alas, it went to waste as San Diego's vaunted bullpen stubbed its toe in a 5-2 loss, dropping the Friars to 0-2 on the young season. Manny Machado led off the 4th inning with a double, moved to 3rd base when Merrill legged out an infield single, and came in to score on another infield knock by Miguel Andujar to put the Padres up 1-0 against Detroit lefty Framber Valdez. After giving Merrill a round of applause for his highlight reel catch, starting pitcher Michael King threw up a whole bunch of zeroes. King struck out six in 5.0 innings, allowing just one hit. But, he walked four and the last one came back to bite him, even though it was not his fault. Manager Craig Stammen let King start the 6th inning and he issued a leadoff free pass to Gleyber Torres, prompting the skipper to bring in Adrian Morejon. The All-Star lefty got exactly what he wanted when Jahmai Jones hit a double play ball right at Machado ... who couldn't get it out of his glove. Everyone was safe on the error. Morejon nearly bailed him out, starting a double play of his own on a Riley Greene comebacker, but Spencer Torkelson lined a single to left field to score Torres and tie it up 1-1.San Diego got it right back in the bottom half and of course Merrill was involved. After giving up a pair of hits to the 22-year-old centerfielder, Valdez walked him. Merrill moved to 2nd base when catcher Dillon Dingler tried to pick him off but airmailed the throw into right field. Merrill scampered home on a line drive double to right field by Ramon Laureano, giving the Friars a 2-1 lead. Morejon tossed another scoreless inning in the 7th but Jeremiah Estrada had trouble finding the strike zone. After striking out Javier Baez, the usually reliable right-hander walked three straight batters to load the bases. Greene hit a soft grounder towards shortstop for an infield single to tie it 2-2. Estrada punched out Torkelson and was replaced by Wandy Peralta. The lefty has pitched 11 years in the Major Leagues. He faced McGonigle, who has eight at-bats in the Major Leagues. Youth prevailed. The rookie lined a single to right-center to bring home the other two walks and give the Tigers a 4-2 lead. Dingler followed with another run-scoring single and it was all over. In all, four of Detroit's five runs were guys who reached base via the walk. The Padres will try to avoid a sweep and get a notch in the W column on Saturday night with Randy Vasquez on the mound against Tigers righty Jack Flaherty.San Diego airport sees long lines, flight delays amid staffing shortages from shutdown
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