Merrill's Energy Sparked Padres' Turnaround

0:00It's April 2nd, MLB News Today starts now, AI powered and game ready. I'm Cory with the story. San Diego Padre's outfielder Jackson Merrill turned a dugout moment into pure fun during Wednesday's game against the San Francisco Giants. He played rock, paper, scissors with a young fan of begging for an autograph over three straight innings. Merrill finally gave in, crushed the kid with a win, and Joe T never beats anyone at that game. The same energy fueled the Padre's to a solid 7-1 victory where he scored the first run hustling home on an error. His spark lit up the whole dugout, especially after a line-up tweak got the bat swinging. Manager Craig Stamman called out Merrill's youthful hustle-sliding hard, jumping around, making it contagious for the offense that had been ice-cold. Early. At just 22, Merrill stepping up as a leader, skipping the World Baseball Classic this spring, to grind with the team. Just like Manny Machado and Joe Musgrove, love how he brings work ethic without drama,

1:03easing the load on stars to always lead. The Padre's kicked off the season's luggish, scoring three or fewer runs in their first five games, worse stretch since their debut year back in. 1969. Merrill's flipping the script with aggressive play, showing up early to Clubhouse to hype everyone, and speaking his mind on team fixes. That fire helps snap the funk, even if the homestand ended two wins and four losses. Stamman vows they'll heat up at Peco Park like always, and with Merrill's daily energy and leadership locked in, the Padre's are primed to roll strong from here.