BALTIMORE – Padres center fielder Jackson Merrill grew up playing baseball at Severna Park High School, about 15 miles south of Oriole Park at Camden Yards. In 2021 as a high school senior, Merrill hit a home run at Camden Yards during the Brooks Robinson High School All-Star Game. Merrill was drafted by the Padres as their 2021 first-round selection (27th overall) and made his MLB debut on March 20, 2024. During his weekend return to Oriole Park, Merrill launched his seventh homer of the season on Saturday – and first as a pro at Camden Yards – a two-run shot off Baltimore starter Trey Gibson that ignited a four-run first inning for San Diego in a 9-3 win over the Orioles. The Padres ended up hitting five homers on the day. "It's nice to hit in Camden Yards rather than Petco Park, sometimes,” manager Craig Stammen said. “The heat and humidity, the hitters seem to like that a little bit. But it's nice for those guys to feel, 'Hey, we still got it'. And they do still got it. It's not just words from the coaching staff or words from other players. But they go out and actually see the results for all the work they've been putting in." Merrill’s blast traveled a Statcast-projected 372 feet over the left-center-field wall on an 88 mph slider. He remembers that homer here in high school going to right field. "As a high schooler, it was pretty cool,” Merrill said. “I wasn't really a power hitter, so to hit one at Camden Yards is pretty cool. But to hit one now, all I could think about is winning the ballgame. "Oh, it's good because I pulled one and hit one oppo. So, we got one to both sides. \[I’ll\
