Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Jackson Merrill is ready for his encore season.
“I’ve been ready since we stepped into the building for spring training,” Merrill said. “Maybe not like baseball-wise, but mind-wise, I’ve been ready to go. It wasn’t slow in spring training. Just had a few games where I didn’t feel too right. But then now it just feels like things are back.”
Aside from the one plate appearance the regulars will get in Monday’s Cactus League finale, Merrill on Sunday capped his second spring training as a major leaguer with his fourth home run in a 5-5 tie with the Diamondbacks.
He spoke afterward of this year being a different kind of learning process — one in which he had to get used to the routine of not playing routinely. He is the junkiest of baseball junkies, usually arriving at the ballpark before any other teammate and staying in the dugout until the end of almost every spring training game. So being an established big-leaguer this year and rarely traveling to away games in the spring was a foreign way to ramp up.
Last spring, he played almost every day as the Padres got him ready to make his big-league debut at what was then his new position in center field.
“Last year was a completely different vibe,” he said. “But I’m kind of a little bit — not upset with myself, but I think I could have treated it the same as last year and maybe got a little more progress out of it. But to be honest, I feel like I’m just in a spot now where I’m getting better day by day. So it’s kind of nice to chill and build it up, because now I’m ready for 162 better than I’ve ever been.”
Merrill was an All-Star last season, won the Silver Slugger for National League center fielders and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting and ninth in NL MVP voting.
He came into this spring knowing he would be batting third this season as opposed to the back half of the lineup. He aimed to be more selective at the plate and then did not walk once in 45 plate appearances.
“That was kind of annoying, but I was getting pitches to hit,” said Merrill, who batted .244 (11-for-45) and put 11 of his 34 balls in play at 101 mph or harder in Cactus League play. “I think I had long ABs, good ABs — some bad ones, but a lot of good ABs and a lot of good contact. I think a lot more power, a lot more barrel. When I hit it, it sounds a little different than it did last year.”
Yu Darvish returned to San Diego and is expected to resume playing catch in the coming days.
The 38-year-old right-hander began experiencing elbow discomfort more than a week ago. His March 16 bullpen session was canceled, and he has not played catch since a brief turn throwing softly on Tuesday.
Darvish has been examined by Dr. Keith Meister, a renowned orthopedic surgeon. The Padres believe there is no ligament damage that would require surgery and that rest will be enough to get him back on the mound in relatively short order.
When Darvish returns, however, will be dependent on how he feels. And a team source reiterated Sunday the team’s plan has been to try to preserve Darvish for later in the season, so there will not be a rush for him to get back on the mound.
Once Yuli Gurriel ($1.25 million), Jose Iglesias ($3 million) and Martín Maldonado ($1 million) officially join Gavin Sheets ($1.6 million) on the 40-man roster, the Padres will be projected to be over the second Competitive Balance Tax threshold of $261 million.
They would be taxed at a rate of 20% on the first $20 million by which they exceed the $241 million base CBT threshold and 32% for every dollar they are over the second threshold.
Teams are not assessed that tax until their CBT payroll is figured out at the end of the season, so the final number could change via any number of transactions.
For a deeper dive into the team, sign up for Kevin Acee’s free “Padres Daily” newsletter delivered to your inbox the morning after virtually every game during the season. Subscribe here.
Originally Published:
San Diego Padres (14-7) at Los Angeles Angels (11-11), April 19, 2026, 1:07 p.m. PST
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SANDY, Utah — SANDY, Utah (AP) — Sergi Solans had two goals and an assist, Diego Luna added a goal and two assists, and Real Salt Lake beat San Diego FC 4-2 on Saturday night to extend its unbeaten streak to six games.
Morgan Guilavogui scored his first goal in MLS and had an assist for Real Salt Lake (5-1-1). The 28-year-old designated player has five goal contributions in his first six career games.
RSL hasn’t lost since a 1-0 defeat at Vancouver in the season opener.
San Diego (3-3-2) has lost three in a row and is winless in five straight.
Luna opened the scoring in the fifth minute when he re-directed a misplayed pass by Duran Ferree, San Diego’s 19-year-old goalkeeper, into the net.
Moments later, Solans headed home a perfectly-placed cross played by Luna from outside the right corner of the 18-yard box to the back post to make it 2-0. Solans, a 23-year-old forward, flicked a header from the center of the area inside the right post and past the outstretched arm of Ferree to make it 3-1 in the 37th minute.
Guilavogui slammed home a first-touch shot to give RSL a three-goal lead in the 45th.
Marcus Ingvartsen scored a goal in the 14th minute and Anders Dreyer converted from the penalty spot in the 66th for San Diego.
Ingvartsen has five goals and an assist this season and has 10 goal contributions (seven goals, three assists) in 16 career MLS appearances.
Rafael Cabral had three saves for RSL.
Ferree finished with five saves.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
When John Resnick opened Campfire on a quaint little street in Carlsbad, Calif., in 2016, some locals weren’t sure what to think. The coastal enclave wasn’t exactly awash in innovative, chef-driven establishments, so it was a shock to see the dining room consistently full. Early on, one woman wondered aloud to Resnick, “Where did all these people come from?”
It’s a moment he remembers vividly. “I was struck by her statement, because I think she was surprised that so many other people in Carlsbad were there,” Resnick says.
The rest of the culinary world would take some time to catch up to what was happening. In 2019, when Michelin expanded to rate restaurants throughout all of California—not just the San Francisco area—Addison was the only one in San Diego to earn a star. But since emerging from the pandemic, the region’s food scene has grown dramatically. Driven by outstanding farms, ingredients, a bumper crop of talented chefs, and a G.D.P. approximately the size of New Zealand or Greece, San Diego County has become one of America’s most underrated dining destinations.
Campfire’s octopus, chorizo, and celery-root entrée.
Gage Forster
Perhaps no single restaurant is a better emblem for this shift than chef William Bradley’s Addison, which opened in 2006. After landing his first star, Bradley knew he wanted more. To get them, he transformed his French-leaning fare to serve what he calls California Gastronomy, which combines the cultures of SoCal with impeccable ingredients and wildly impressive techniques, prizing flavor over flair. Michelin responded, awarding Addison a second star in 2022, and making it the first Southern California three-star restaurant just a year later. The accolade has created a halo effect, attracting culinary tourists from around the world.
Berry beet tartlets at San Diego’s three-star stalwart Addison.
Eric Wolfinger
“Earning three stars forces the global dining community to pay attention to a place that may not have been on their radar before,” says chef Eric Bost, a partner in Resnick’s four Carlsbad establishments.
Resnick recruited Bost, who spent time at award-winning outposts of Restaurant Guy Savoy, to run Jeune et Jolie, which he led to a star in 2021. They’ve since taken over an old boogie-board factory down the street and converted it to an all-day restaurant and bakery, Wildland. The space also hosts an exquisite tasting-counter experience called Lilo, which was given a Michelin star mere months after opening in April 2025. And as Resnick and Bost grew their successful Carlsbad operation, chef Roberto Alcocer earned a Michelin star for his Mexican fine-dining spot Valle in nearby Oceanside.
The stylish tasting counter at Michelin one-star Lilo in Carlsbad.
Kimberly Motos
About 25 miles to the south, another affluent coastal community is going through its own culinary glow up. In La Jolla, chef Tara Monsod and the hospitality group Puffer Malarkey Collective opened the stylish French steakhouse Le Coq. Chef Erik Anderson, formerly of Michelin two-star Coi, is preparing to launch Roseacre. And last year, Per Se alums Elijah Arizmendi and Brian Hung left New York to open the elegant tasting-menu restaurant Lucien, lured by the ingredients they’d get to serve. “A major reason we chose San Diego is the quality and diversity of the produce,” Arizmendi explains. “San Diego County has more small farms than anywhere else in the U.S., and its many microclimates allow farmers to grow an incredible range of ingredients year-round.”
Wildland’s spicy Italian sandwich.
Gage Forster
Chef Travis Swikard has also been a tireless advocate for the region’s ingredients since he returned to San Diego, his hometown, and opened Mediterranean-influenced Callie in 2021. There’s no sophomore slump with his latest effort, the French Riviera–inspired Fleurette in La Jolla, where he’s serving his take on classics like leeks vinaigrette and his San Diego “Bouillabaisse” with local red sheepshead fish and spiny lobster. Its food is bright, produce-driven, and attentive in execution, while the dining room maintains a relaxed and unpretentious style of service. And Swikard sees that approach cohering into a regional style with a strong network of professionals behind it.
“It’s really nice that we are developing our own identity, not trying to be like L.A. or any other market, just highlighting what’s great about the San Diego lifestyle and ingredients,” he says. “Similar to New York, a chef community is starting to develop where chefs are supporting each other. There is a true sense of pride to be cooking here.”
Top: In La Jolla, Lucien serves ocean whitefish with tomatoes turned into concasse, sabayon, and other expressions.
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