The San Diego Padres were able to even up the National League Division Series on Sunday as they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers by a score of 10-2.
10 runs scored by the Padres included 6 home runs by 5 different players, including 2 by Fernando Tatis Jr.
One of the players to go yard in this game was rookie outfielder Jackson Merrill, and he made franchise history with this playoff bomb.
According to The Athletic MLB on ‘X,’ Merrill became the youngest Padre to ever homer in a playoff game at only 21 years old.
At 21, Jackson Merrill became the youngest Padre to ever homer in the postseason.
In fact, the only center fielders to homer in a playoff game at a younger age are Bryce Harper, Andruw Jones and Mickey Mantle.
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Merrill hit a 2-run home run in the 8th inning of Sunday’s game 2 to increase the Padres lead over the Dodgers to 6-1.
That home run made Merrill the youngest Padres player to hit a home run in a postseason game, and the only players to ever hit one at a younger age include Bryce Harper, Andruw Jones, and Mickey Mantle.
Merrill had a productive rookie season for the Padres where he played in 156 games with a .292 batting average, 24 home runs, 90 runs batted in, and a .826 on-base plus slugging percentage.
So far in his postseason career, Merrill has 6 hits in 14 at-bats with 1 home run, 1 triple, 1 double, 5 runs batted in, and a 1.357 on-base plus slugging percentage.
A teammate of Merrill, Xander Bogaerts, had a comment saying that Merrill knows that he is a bad dude.
The Padres were able to even up the series with the Dodgers before heading back to San Diego for game 3 that will take place on Tuesday.
Merrill will look to continue his postseason success against Walker Buehler, who is the probable pitcher for the Dodgers.
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