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San Diego Let Merrill Build the Cushion

The Padres beat the Nationals 9-2 as Jackson Merrill drove in six and San Diego moved to 63.3% on the BaseChaser board.

By BaseChaser · September 10, 2026 · 3 min read

The Padres beat the Nationals 9-2 on September 9.

San Diego turned a big night into real cushion in the playoff race, moving to 63.3% on the BaseChaser board.

Jackson Merrill drove the game, going 4-for-5 with 2 home runs, a triple, and 6 RBI.

He tripled in two in the third, hit a two-run homer in the fifth, homered again in the seventh, and added another RBI single in the eighth.

Kyle Hart got the win as San Diego kept building separation.

9-2
Final score, Padres over Nationals.
63.3%
San Diego's latest BaseChaser playoff odds.
0.0%
Washington's latest BaseChaser playoff odds.

What It Means

The Padres improve to 78-68. The Nationals fall to 67-81.

BaseChaser lists San Diego at 63.3% to make the playoffs and Washington at 0.0%.

San Diego is starting to build real cushion.

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