Padres manager makes crucial Jackson Merrill announcement after hit by pitch

Matthew Wadleigh

Padres manager makes crucial Jackson Merrill announcement after hit by pitch  image

The San Diego Padres lost their second straight game against the New York Yankees. This one came on a 4-3 loss on Wednesday night, although Dylan Cease brought a no-hitter into the seventh inning. 

Unfortunately, Cease's no-hit bid was broken up by a Cody Bellinger home run, and the Padres pitcher left the game in the same inning with a forearm issue. 

After the game, Cease revealed he doesn't think it's "too serious," which is good news. 

Moreover, Padres star Jackson Merrill - who just returned to the lineup on Tuesday - was hit by a pitch on his elbow in the top of the 10th inning. 

Padres fans held their breath, especially since Merrill missed a month due to a hamstring injury and just returned to the lineup on Tuesday. 

After the game, Mike Shildt revealed that Merrill should be ok despite being hit in the forearm, per 97.3 The Fan

 "Tough kid. Another big game for Jackson...I'm sure he doesn't feel great, but he doesn't feel like it's going to be compromised moving forward," Shildt said. 

Merrill was off to a scorching start this season before suffering the hamstring injury in the third series of the year, so the Padres were excited to have him back. 

On Wednesday, Merrill hit a home run in the fourth to break a scoreless tie, and then he added a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the eighth inning before the Yankees came back in the bottom half of the inning. 

But, for now, all signs are encouraging for Merrill despite a hard hit on the elbow. 

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Matthew Wadleigh

Matthew Wadleigh is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He was born and raised in Southern California and grew up a San Diego sports fan (yes, it’s tough, except for Aztecs hoops). Matthew went to Fresno State as a journalism major and got to see Davante Adams, Derek Carr, Paul George and Aaron Judge in person. Matthew has written for publications including ClutchPoints, Sportscasting, Fansided, Trojans Wire, UCLA Wire and Buffaloes Wire.