Jackson Merrill belted a two-run homer during a four-run second inning Sunday and the San Diego Padres won for the eighth time in nine games, holding off the visiting San Francisco Giants 5-4.
Merrill’s 422-foot blast over the wall in right-center off Landen Roupp (7-10) got San Diego off to the fast start it needed to repel San Francisco’s rally. It was Merrill’s 16th homer of the year and came after a leadoff single by Ty France.
Later in the inning, Roupp lost the strike zone, filling the bases via walks to Gavin Sheets, Xander Bogaerts and Luis Rengifo. Jake Cronenworth poked an infield single that shortstop Willy Adames stopped but then dropped as he tried to throw home. Bogaerts followed Sheets home on the play to complete the rally.
The Padres’ other run came in the fifth on a two-out surge. France singled and Merrill walked, teeing up Luis Campusano for an RBI single just off the tip of Adames’ glove. That knocked out Roupp after 4 2/3 innings, over which he gave up six hits and five runs. He walked four and fanned six.
San Diego opted to scratch Michael King from his scheduled start and move him back to the opener of a big four-game series Monday night at Arizona. Opener Kyle Hart delivered three scoreless innings before San Francisco got to JP Sears in the fourth.
Adames stroked a bases-loaded single that scored Bryce Eldridge, who singled to start the inning, as the Giants’ first run. Drew Cavanaugh followed with a groundout which enabled Rafael Devers to score and cut the Padres’ lead to 4-2.
Osleivis Basabe brought San Francisco within 4-3 in the fifth, belting his second homer in as many games to left-center. Basabe’s blast went in and out of the glove of a leaping Merrill at the wall.
Devers drilled his 23rd homer of the year with two outs in the top of the eighth to again reduce San Diego’s advantage to a run. Jung Hoo Lee followed with a double to left and reached third on an error on the play but Adrian Morejon came on and fanned Adames to preserve the narrow lead.
With closer Mason Miller unavailable after throwing 30 pitches Saturday night, Morejon worked the ninth to earn his second save.
Griffin Canning (3-9), who allowed a run in two innings after relieving Sears, was awarded the win.
