Merrill’s 425‑footer

Jackson Merrill hit a 425-foot homer in the seventh inning Sunday as San Diego beat Colorado 7-2 and finished a four-game sweep. (espn.com) The drive went to right-center field at Petco Park and pushed the Padres’ lead to 7-2. Merrill finished 2 for 3 with two runs scored, while Ty France went 3 for 3 with a 427-foot homer and Ramón Laureano added a two-run shot. (espn.com) Major League Baseball’s Statcast feed posted a separate breakdown of Merrill’s homer on April 12, 2026, underscoring how hard the ball was hit and how far it carried. The clip became one of the game’s featured in-game data visualizations. (mlb.com) For San Diego, the swing landed in a game that also tightened an early National League West race. The Padres ended Sunday at 10-6, 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and ahead of both the San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies in the division standings. (mlb.com) Merrill is still only 22, and he entered Sunday hitting.193 with two home runs in 57 at-bats. His broader record is stronger than that small April sample: he debuted on March 20, 2024, and was selected to the 2024 National League All-Star team. (baseballsavant.mlb.com) (mlb.com) The Padres have used Merrill as a long-term piece in center field after drafting him 27th overall in 2021 out of Severna Park High School in Maryland. Baseball Savant lists his 2026 sprint speed in the 94th percentile and his fielding run value in the 93rd percentile, which helps explain why San Diego can live with some early offensive variance. (mlb.com) (baseballsavant.mlb.com) Sunday’s game had another subplot for San Diego because starter Nick Pivetta left after three perfect innings with elbow stiffness. The Padres still got 6 scoreless innings from their bullpen after Pivetta’s exit and carried Merrill’s blast through the final two frames. (espn.com) The next test comes Tuesday, April 14, when Seattle opens a series in San Diego. Merrill’s 425-footer closed the Rockies set as the loudest swing in a 7-2 win and the last homer in a three-homer afternoon for the Padres. (mlb.com) (espn.com)