Jackson Merrill makes feelings known after Mariners sweep Padres in Vedder Cup

The San Diego Padres were completely outmatched in the Veddar Cup series against the Seattle Mariners. The Padres' sluggers couldn't score more than one run in any game of the three-game series as their offensive struggles saw them slide to a 27-18 record, increasing their distance from top-placed LA Dodgers (29-18) in the NL West division.

On Sunday, the Mariners swept the Padres by winning the game 6-1. After the closure of the inaugural Veddar Cup, young slugger Jackson Merrill didn’t mince words, offering a raw assessment of their struggles.

"I said I felt like we got to the spots we needed to be in, and we just didn’t capitalize, which is, again, baseball," Merrill said (0:09 onwards). "They've got arms in the pen coming out, you know—everybody in that pen is dirty.

"It’s our job to get shorter and complete the goal of getting runs across the board, but we didn’t do that. And that’s baseball—stuff happens sometimes. So you just gotta flush it, put it behind us, take this off day, and then go into a new series and dominate."

When asked if it was the Mariners' pitching that was too good or whether the Padres' hitters were just out of sorts, Merrill replied:

"It’s always a combo. I think when good pitching starts to happen, you start to try to do a little more, and then stuff like that can happen. But in all honesty, I don’t think we had any meetings or anything where we were like, ‘Try to hit homers’ or anything like that. Our approach was there the whole time—we just couldn’t execute. And that’s part of the game."

Padres' Jackson Merrill reveals reason behind his hand wrap

During the interview, one reporter asked Jackson Merrill why his hand was wrapped up. With concerns regarding a potential injury, the slugger said it's a blister.

"Yeah, I just got a blister. Yeah, a nasty blister. I’m good though."

After coming off a month-long layoff due to a hamstring injury, Merrill is blowing hot and cold. But in the last two series, he has been pretty off.

In the two-game series against the LA Angels, Merrill went 0-for-8 at the plate. Meanwhile, in the series against the Mariners, he went 1-for-11 at the plate.

The Padres will need him to get going if they want to avoid another series loss.

About the author

Krutik Jain is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. It was in 2018 when the baseball bug bit Krutik, and already a cricket fan, he credits baseball's rules and Clayton Kershaw's pitching to have hooked him to the game.

A Kershaw and Mookie Betts fan, Krutik rates his favorite team LA Dodgers triumphing over Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series as his best baseball moment so far. His answer to the perennial "one player from the past you could meet" question is Jackie Robinson. Despite never having seen him play, Robinson's impact, legacy and trail-blazing journey have left an indelible impact on Krutik.

A rigorous fact-checker, Krutik likes reporting on the technical aspects of the game as well as off-field elements. When not watching baseball, Krutik is busy playing cricket, staying up to date with the happenings around the world and hiking.

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Edited by Dipayan Moitra