Merrill’s wild walk-off

Jackson Merrill ended it with a walk-off single Wednesday night, capping a five-run ninth inning that gave San Diego a 6-5 win. (mlb.com) San Diego entered the bottom of the ninth trailing 5-1 before loading the bases and pushing across five runs. Merrill’s hit scored the winning run and finished the Padres’ largest ninth-inning regular-season comeback since 2017. (mlb.com) Merrill is 22 and opened 2026 as one of the Padres’ central young hitters after his breakout 2024 season and a long-term extension signed in 2025. Wednesday’s finish added another late-game highlight to a player the club has already moved to the middle of its lineup. (mlb.com) The comeback also fit a Padres roster built around star power and close-game leverage. San Diego spent the past two seasons trying to convert a talented core into steadier late-inning results, and one swing turned a likely loss into a signature early-season win. (espn.com) Regular-season rallies from four runs down in the ninth are rare across Major League Baseball because teams usually have only three outs left and are often facing a closer. San Diego had not pulled off one that large in the ninth inning of a regular-season game since 2017. (mlb.com) Video of the final sequence spread quickly online after the game, with clips showing the tying rally and Merrill’s winner from Petco Park. The Padres’ next test is whether they can turn one chaotic finish into momentum over the rest of April. (x.com)