The San Diego Padres are rolling right now. They have won the first two games of the series against the lowly Colorado Rockies, including a 21-0 blowout on Saturday at Coors Field.
The Padres got a big boost at the beginning of the week as star outfielder Jackson Merrill returned after a month on the IL. Since his return, he had two or more hits in every game with a total of six RBI and five runs scored, so he has provided a major spark to San Diego.
But, the Padres got some unfortunate news on Sunday. Just 90 minutes before first pitch, Merrill was scratched from the lineup due to an illness, per the Padres account on X.
Jackson Merrill has been scratched from today’s lineup due to illness. Here's the updated lineup: https://t.co/iSlAKCpdDU pic.twitter.com/YyiM9KfKUX
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) May 11, 2025
Merrill was initially in the lineup but was removed shortly after, which isn't encouraging for the Padres.
As a result, there was some lineup shuffling. Merrill was initially slated to bat cleanup, but instead it is Gavin Sheets at the No. 4 spot while Tyler Wade will hit ninth and take over for Merrill in center field.
On the year, he is hitting a blistering .446 with four home runs and 16 RBI through 14 games, so he is off to a strong start after a dominant rookie campaign.
The good news is that this doesn't appear to be anything injury-related for Merrill. The Padres finish the series against the Rockies on Monday before going back to San Diego for six games.
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