NL WILD CARD SERIES: BRAVES VS PADRES

October 2, 2024

Jackson Merrill

Petco Park

San Diego Padres

Postgame Press Conference

Padres - 5, Braves - 4

Q. Jackson, what do you make of this accomplishment and kind of the way you guys have gone about postseason baseball thus far?

JACKSON MERRILL: We came in with our entire heart and all the energy we had. We have to bring that the next series. So just keep padding it on, keep winning series, one step at a time.

Q. Has there been any moments -- I know you're locked in on what you've got to do, but any time in the series where you've taken a step back and looked at and appreciated what this environment has been like?

JACKSON MERRILL: I think first inning yesterday was my wake-up call. This is the energy. This is the crowd. This is what it's going to be for the rest of the year. Kind of getting used to that, getting locked in, getting a fly ball and an AB always helps. It took a second to get used to it, take it all in.

Q. Can you walk through that triple a little bit? You barrelled it up pretty good. Did you think you had a shot for three there? You found another gear around second.

JACKSON MERRILL: I think I was watching it a little too much. I probably should have ran a little harder out of the box. But, no, it's a tough AB. Max is unreal. He's a really good pitcher, been a good pitcher for a while. He threw some good pitches to me but he left that one over the plate and I just didn't want to miss it.

Q. What's it say about the tenacity and depth of this lineup, two outs, and six hits in a row or so? You just kept coming.

JACKSON MERRILL: That's the band of brothers right there. First inning, bases loaded, no outs, we don't score. We don't look back. We move forward. Six straight two-out outs, I don't think that happens very often. That's what you call a band of brothers, just working together, trying to pack on the runs.

Q. Do you think you guys are showing stuff to people who maybe didn't realize what was going on out here with maybe the big names, but maybe with you and Higgy and those complementary parts, it's a pretty good package when you put it all together?

JACKSON MERRILL: I think, to be honest, coming into this year there was a little bit of doubt with us coming from the outside. But we knew internally, we knew between us we were a really good team, we could win ball games.

I think you saw it really early with the Cubs game when it was 8-0 and we came back, like, that shows how much heart and how much grit we have. I don't think any team comes back 8-0 if they don't have a team that really gets together and works together to do that.

Q. What do you expect from Dodger Stadium? What do you expect the atmosphere to be like? And what do you expect the series to be?

JACKSON MERRILL: It's going to be unreal. I know it's going to be loud and energetic. It will be cool kind of playing in an away stadium the first time in the playoffs. I think it will take a second to take it in, just like I've taken it in here.

But we're going to play our A game. We're going to play our Padres baseball. We're going to go at them. I just want our guys to be ready and trust each other.

Q. This group of guys is a pretty distinctly different group of guys in some ways from the guys that reported to Spring Training -- you've added Profar since then, you've made trades and brought in Solano, Peralta, those kind of guys. How has it managed to fit and work as well as it has and you guys have blossomed together?

JACKSON MERRILL: I think every single person we've acquired or brought up or just got on the team in any way has been themselves, hasn't changed the way they act as a human being.

I think the way that all of them kind of put out their energy, like, let's say Arraez for a second, that guy comes to the field with the most energy I've ever seen. Crazy energy. One second he's over here and the next over here. And everybody coming in, being themselves, and everybody accepting that and it flowing well with us, that's been the main piece of our team.