Merrill Goes Nuclear: 2 HR, 6 RBI Buries Washington 9-2
Jackson Merrill put on one of the more complete individual performances of the 2026 season, going 4-for-5 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI as San Diego dismantled Washington 9-2 on September 9. The story of the night was a third-inning triple that flipped the game on its head and never looked back.
Washington actually drew first blood — and then some. Keibert Ruiz launched a 402-foot shot to right in the third to put the Nationals up 1-0, and Dylan Crews followed with an RBI single that made it 2-0. For a moment, it looked like San Diego might be in for a long night. Then Merrill happened. Ty France singled home Fernando Tatis Jr. to cut it to 2-1, and Merrill immediately erased the deficit with a triple to right that scored both Machado and France. Just like that, San Diego led 3-2. That swing — Merrill's triple — moved San Diego's win probability from 51% to 73%, a 22-point lurch that effectively decided the game in the third inning.
San Diego kept piling on. In the fourth, a bunt single by Taylor led to Hays scoring on a throwing error by Washington pitcher Kent, pushing the lead to 4-2. Tatis Jr. then singled home Taylor to make it 5-2. Merrill wasn't done. In the fifth, he went deep to left — 363 feet — with France aboard, extending the lead to 7-2. He added a solo shot to center in the seventh, 412 feet, for 8-2. And in the eighth, even his infield single did damage, plating Bogaerts for the final margin of 9-2. Four hits, two home runs, a triple, six RBI — it appears Merrill was simply operating on a different level than everyone else on the field Wednesday night.
On the pitching side, neither team got length from its starters. Luis Perales lasted just 2.0 innings for Washington, allowing 1 earned run on 1 hit with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts before the bullpen inherited a mess. San Diego used a committee approach — Wandy Peralta threw 2.0 scoreless innings, Kyle Hart added 2.1 hitless frames, and Walker Buehler worked 2.1 innings allowing 2 earned runs on 3 hits with 4 strikeouts. None of it mattered much once Merrill took over the narrative. Washington's offense managed just 2 runs on the night and looks, frankly, overmatched by a San Diego lineup that had four players with multiple hits. San Diego wins, 9-2.