SAN DIEGO – Another day, another walk-off and it came just at the right time, giving the Padres their first series sweep of the season.
Jackson Merrill blasted a solo home run in the ninth inning Wednesday afternoon and the Padres pulled out a 5-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics at Petco Park – a day after Kyle Higashioka’s walk-off blast.
Merrill, who homered to center in the fifth, turned on the first pitch he saw from A’s reliever Mason Miller and sent it 369 feet to the Petco Porch in right field.
Padres right-hander Michael King pitched five innings and struck out 12 A's, tying the San Diego record strikeouts in five innings. Wandy Peralta relieved King in the sixth, allowing two runners to score that were put on by King, and an additional run of his own.
Then after missing Tuesday because of illness, Jeremiah Estrada gave up a double to A's second baseman Zack Gelof and put the A’s up 4-2 in the top of the eighth inning.
Donovan Solano opened the scoring his solo homer in the second off A’s left-handed starter Hogan Harris. He tied the game in the eighth when he launched his second homer of the game to left-center off A’s reliever Lucas Ecreg.
This marks the first time since August 2020 that San Diego (37-35) has walked off in back-to-back games.
Here are three takeaways:
Profar sidelined
Jurickson Profar left Tuesday night’s win after swinging and missing a 94 mph fastball in the eighth inning. Profar walked off with the team’s trainer after the pitch and David Peralta finished the at-bat and replaced him in left field.
Padres manager Mike Shildtt said Profar injured the patellar tendinitis in his left knee and he would be day-to-day. His .924 OPS leads the team and his .324 batting average is the second-best in the National League, behind teammate Luis Arraez).
Brooms were out
With the win, the Padres became the last team in the majors to record a series sweep this year. The have had five series in which they needed to win the last game and failed to do so each time.
The Padres are seven games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for second place in the National League West.
Also , the 17-game hitting streak Fernando Tatis Jr. ended as he went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk.
Padres injury list grows
Profar's exit adds another to the list of key Padres who have been battling injuries this season.
Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove have yet to pitch in June and Xander Bogaerts has no timeline on his return. Manny Machado has also been dealing with a right hip flexor strain he suffered last week.
Although the injuries have not been helpful, the Padres are still 1 1/2 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants for the second NL Wild Card spot.
The Padres next play a three-game series at the New York Mets at 4:10 p.m. Friday, when they face former Padres and left-hander Sean Manaea (3-3, 4.30 ERA) against right-hander Matt Waldron (4-5, 3.76).
