In an otherwise lackluster evening at the plate Jackson Merrill provided a spark.
The 20-year-old rookie belted his first Major League home run Monday night against the Cardinals. Merrill took Kyle Gibson deep to the left field seats with two outs in the third inning. The solo shot cut the Padres' deficit to 4-1 in what turned out to be a 6-2 loss.
Merrill was greeted by the customary silent treatment in San Diego's dugout, before being mobbed by Manny Machado and his teammates.
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His first home run continues an encouraging start, including Sunday's performance that included two hits and an RBI. Merrill was inches from another two-hit outing Monday - but a liner to right that came off the bat at 96 miles per hour was snagged by a diving Jordan Walker.
Both of the Padres' runs came off homers Monday. Fernando Tatis Jr. belted a 443-foot missile off Gibson in the sixth inning, his third of the year.
Beyond the two blasts Mike Shildt's team managed three hits, and had a baserunner reach second base just once. It was a stark contrast from Sunday's 16-hit, 13-run outburst against the Giants.
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Matt Waldron struggled in his first start of the year, giving up a first inning homer to Willson Contreras and allowing four runs in four innings. Jhony Brito gave up two more on a Brendan Donovan two-run shot in the sixth.
