San Diego, CA
Padres pregame: Jackson Merrill not the only Friar lifting his game since All-Star break
There’s no denying that Jackson Merrill is getting used to the hero role.
He’s far from the only Padre lifting his game during this second-half surge.
The Padres’ .811 OPS since the All-Star break is fourth in baseball heading into Saturday’s 1:10 p.m. start in Miami.
That’s a bump from .729 in the first half, good for 11th in the majors.
Merrill leads the post-All-Star bunch with a 1.111 OPS over 77 plate appearances and Jurickson Profar has continued an MVP-caliber season (at least for this team) with a .970 OPS.
After that dynamic duo, it’s two of the expected team leaders finally rising toward the top as Manny Machado has a .920 OPS and Xander Bogaerts is tied with catcher Kyle Higashioka with a .913 OPS.
Machado has hit five of his 18 home runs over his last 18 games, driving in 15 runs —one fewer than Merrill, who has four homers since the break.
Bogaerts has just one home run in that stretch, but he’s hitting .378 and slugging .500 on the steam of four doubles and a triple.
All of the above are in Saturday’s lineup in their accustomed spots as the Padres look to clinch a seventh straight series.
Otra Noche en Miami pic.twitter.com/GJzds1bBae
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 10, 2024
The Padres (65-52) are a season-high 13 games over .500, just 2½ games behind the Dodgers in the NL West and lead the Diamondbacks by a game as the NL’s top wild-card team.
Here is how Miami (43-74) will line up for Game 2:
Legacy Saturday Lineup
🤝: @PNCBank
📺: @BallySportsFL, @BallyMarlins
👂: @MarlinsRadio, @FoxSports940
⏰: 4:10 PM ET #HomeOfBeisbol // https://t.co/5rOTQv6054 pic.twitter.com/vMskk2RaMZ— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) August 10, 2024
Saturday’s pitching matchup
Padres RHP Matt Waldron (7-9, 3.79 ERA)
He beat the Marlins in late May in San Diego with eight strikeouts over seven shutout innings. Waldron has a 3.11 ERA over 12 road starts this season.
Here is how (what’s left of the Marlins roster) has fared against Waldron:
- INF Jake Burger (2-for-3, K)
- INF Otto Lopez (0-for-3)
- OF Cristian Pache (1-fo-3, 3B, RBI)
- OF Jesus Sanchez (0-for-3, K)
- OF Derek Hill (0-for-2)
Marlins RHP Roddery Muñoz (2-6, 5.68 ERA)
The 24-year-old rookie has walked 35 in 69⅔ innings since making his MLB debut in April. He has allowed 21 homers, six off the MLB-leader (Boston’s Cutter Crawford with 27).
This is his first appearance against the Padres or anyone on their roster.
Originally Published:
Giolito returned to the mound in
A person was fatally struck by a train in the Cardiff neighborhood of Encinitas early Wednesday afternoon, a sheriff’s official said.
The collision was reported just after 1 p.m. in the area of Chesterfield Drive at San Elijo Avenue, Lt. Joe Berry said.
The Sheriff’s Office’s Railroad Enforcement Unit is investigating the incident.
Chesterfield was briefly closed between San Elijo and Coast Highway 101 as first responders worked, but the road has since reopened.
In a post on social media platform X, the North County Transit District warned people to expect significant delays for Coaster service. Tracks were closed between Solana Beach and Encinitas stations, it said, and a Breeze bus bridge would be available for passengers between those stations.
Copyright 2026 San Diego Union-Tribune. All rights reserved. The use of any content on this website for the purpose of training artificial intelligence systems, algorithms, machine learning models, text and data mining, or similar use is strictly prohibited without explicit written consent.
-
Dallas, TX5 minutes agoWild vs. Stars Game 3: Key takeaways as Dallas takes series lead on Wyatt Johnston’s 2OT winner
-
Miami, FL11 minutes agoMiami-Dade deputies detain elderly father who they say shot and killed his son after a domestic dispute
-
Boston, MA17 minutes agoBoston has one of the best public markets in the country, says USA TODAY
-
Denver, CO23 minutes agoRed flag fatigue? Colorado sees near-record number of critical fire days
-
Seattle, WA29 minutes agoFOLLOWUP: West Seattle pickleball players band together to save court access
-
San Diego, CA35 minutes agoPadres sign Giolito to 1-year deal with option for '27
-
Milwaukee, WI41 minutes agoTempers flare, fans get involved in ugly end to Wave-Sockers Game 1
-
Atlanta, GA47 minutes agoBraves News: JR Ritchie called up, Didier Fuentes starts, more