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.

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:

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: August 10, 2024 at 10:51 a.m.