Merrill hits a 3-run double as the Padres beat the Twins 5-3

SAN DIEGO, CA – Jackson Merrill delivered a pivotal three-run double, and Michael King pitched six solid innings as the San Diego Padres defeated the Minnesota Twins 5-3 on Monday night in an interleague clash between playoff hopefuls.

The Padres (71-55) bounced back impressively from a weekend series loss to Colorado, having gone 21-5 since July 20. Conversely, the Twins (70-55) saw their recent momentum stall; they had won five of their last seven games before this series and saw their streak of eight consecutive games with a home run end.

King (11-6) struggled in the early innings, giving up two runs and throwing 45 pitches in the first two frames. However, he improved as the game progressed, allowing just four hits in total and striking out six.

In relief, Jason Adam and Tanner Scott each tossed a scoreless inning for San Diego, with Robert Suarez closing out the game for his 28th save. Suarez faced some trouble when Edouard Julien walked and later scored on Christian Vázquez’s two-out single. However, Suarez secured the win by retiring Jose Miranda on a ground ball to shortstop.

Twins right-hander Zebby Matthews (1-1) made his second major league start and pitched five innings of four-hit ball but was charged with five runs, two of them earned.

The game was tied at 2 in the third inning when Jurickson Profar reached base due to an error by Matthews, who dropped a throw from second baseman Julien. With the bases loaded and two outs following two walks, Merrill smacked a double into the left-center field gap, driving in three runs.

Minnesota initially took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Matt Wallner doubled home Trevor Larnach. The Padres responded immediately with two runs in their half of the inning, as Jake Cronenworth hit a run-scoring groundout and Xander Bogaerts singled in Profar.

**Up Next:**
The series continues on Tuesday night with Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (12-5, 3.49 ERA) facing Padres left-hander Martin Pérez (3-5, 4.62 ERA).

(Photo courtesy of Twins/MLB)