Merrill homers twice, Padres beat Phillies 5-4
Jackson Merrill (right) celebrates with Gavin Sheets (30) after hitting a home run in the second inning. Merrill hit two homers in the Padres 5-4 win over the Phillies on July 12. Photo credit: San Diego Union-Tribune
Petco Park- San Diego, California
Jackson Merrill hit two homers in the San Diego Padres’ game against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 12.
Both of Merrill’s home runs were hit against Phillies ace Zack Wheeler. Going into Saturday, Wheeler had a 1.37 ERA over his last seven starts. His last outing resulted in a one-hit complete game, a 301 Phillies win on July 6 against the Cincinnati Reds.
Merrill has battled through a sophomore slump in this half of the season. Before today, he had just two extra-base hits since June 15. In that time, he was putting up a .466 OPS and a measly 42 wRC+.
Merrill homers in the second inning
Merrill hit the first of his two homers in the second inning. Padres pitcher Yu Darvish allowed two runs in the top half of the inning to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. In the bottom half, Merrill stood at the plate with one out and Gavin Sheets at second base.
The second pitcher from Wheeler was a 98 mph fastball over the middle of the plate in the upper-half of the strike zone. Merrill turned on it for an opposite-field shot to tie the score at 2-2. The ball traveled 364 feet. Martin Maldonado added an RBI single to put the Padres ahead 3-2.
Jackson Merrill knots things up with a 2-run shot! pic.twitter.com/pqm3G6ul7N
— MLB (@MLB) July 13, 2025
The Phillies scored two more runs in the top of the fifth. With the bases loaded, Edmundo Sosa hit a ground ball that snuck through the left side for a single into left field. Two runs were able to score, and the Phillies led 4-3.
Merrill homers again in the sixth
Merrill hit his second homer, again off Wheeler, in the bottom of the sixth. It was the first time in more than four years that Wheeler allowed two home runs to the same player in a game. The last was Buster Posey, who did it in April 2021, according to Dennis Lin of The Athletic.
Jackson Merrill is the first player to hit multiple home runs off Zack Wheeler in the same game since Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey did it on April 20, 2021. Merrill hadn’t homered in his past 34 games. Wheeler hadn’t given up multiple homers all season.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) July 13, 2025
This time, the ball traveled 402 feet. The hit had a 26-degree launch angle and measured 104 mph off the bat.
Manny Machado hit a sacrifice fly to right in the bottom of the seventh to put the Padres in front 5-4. The sac fly was set up with aggressive base running by Fernando Tatis, Jr., who went first to third on a Luis Arraez single to center.
Jeremiah Estrada entered in the ninth to close out the game for the Padres. He retired the side in order to seal the Padres’ 5-4 win.
Up Next
The Padres and Phillies face off on Sunday in the final game of the three-game set.
Nick Pivetta (9-2, 3.07 ERA) will pitch against Cristopher Sanchez (7-2, 2.59 ERA).
The first pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. James has written about the Padres and their prospects for over a decade. He also writes about San Diego State as well as other local sports. James is the Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.