Padres reinstate Jackson Merrill ahead of Yankees clash

After a long absence, the San Diego Padres are getting back one of their young stars. Outfielder Jackson Merrill will join the Padres in New York as they are getting ready to face the Yankees for Game 2 of a three-game series.

The Padres reinstated Merrill from the 10-day IL, despite not playing since early April. Catcher Luis Campusano is headed back to El Paso as the corresponding move. Merrill joins Luis Arraez, Jason Heyward, and Brandon Lockridge as players who have recently returned to action.

Merrill returning to one of the best lineups in baseball will make this Padres team very scary. Before the hamstring injury, Merrill batted .378 with three homers and 10 RBIs. He has an OPS of 1.090 and walked three times. At 23-11, the Friars are 0.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top record in the league. Their offense, paired with a stellar bullpen, has allowed them to have eight shutouts this season alone.

Offensively, the Padres are 5th in the MLB in batting average at .257, 1st in fewest strikeouts at just 233 on the season, 9th in stolen bases at 32, and 12 in OPS at .715.

Game 1 of the Padres-Yankees series proved to be very electric. The Yankees led 3-0 in the 8th inning, and the Friars responded by scoring four runs, all with two outs. Before the runs were scored, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Mike Shildt were both tossed from the contest after arguing a strike call. That seemed to have motivated the players as Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts knocked in two runs each to take a 4-3 lead.

The Yankees will aim to even the series, while San Diego will try and win the series before the finale. Michael King will take on Clarke Schmidt in King’s return to New York. King was traded to San Diego as a part of the Juan Soto blockbuster over one year ago.