MERRILL HEARD US. VÁSQUEZ GOT UNJACKED. BUT NOW MANNY MIGHT ACTUALLY BE JACKED UP.
We’ve been on Jackson Merrill the last couple blogs.
Apparently he reads JackedUpSportz.
You’re welcome, Padres fans.
Merrill finally stepped it up Wednesday, going 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI triple, a walk and a run scored as the Padres shut out the Pirates 3-0.
That’s the Merrill we’ve been waiting for.
After going hitless in the first two games of the Pittsburgh series, Merrill came through when the Padres desperately needed somebody to create some offense.
UNJACKED.
And Randy Vásquez?
The Padres needed him to be Unjacked yesterday, and he was.
Five innings. One hit. No runs. No walks.
That’s a pitching performance you take every single time, especially when your offense has been completely jacked.
The bullpen finished the job and San Diego escaped the series with a win after dropping the first two.
CRONEWORTH’S CATCH: VERY UNJACKED
We also need to talk about Jake Cronenworth.
In the sixth inning, Bryan Reynolds smoked a 104.8 mph line drive that looked like a hit.
Crone laid out and caught it.
That’s just an incredible play.
As Padres announcer Don Orsillo likes to say:
“You can hit it anywhere, but you can’t hit it to the Crone Zone.”
Exactly.
And in a 3-0 game where the Padres pitching staff was trying to keep Pittsburgh off the board, that’s exactly the kind of defense you need behind them.
Cronenworth wasn’t done either. He added an RBI double in the eighth to give the Padres their third run.
Good day for Crone.
JAKE CRONENWORTH: VERY UNJACKED.
IS MANNY ACTUALLY JACKED UP?
We’ve been talking about Manny Machado’s bat being Jacked Up.
Turns out Manny himself might actually be Jacked Up.
Machado has been driving on the interstate for most of August, hitting just .111 in the last 5 games
That’s not Manny Machado.
And now we know there may be something else going on.
Padres manager Craig Stammen confirmed Machado has a bruise on the inside of his index finger, and it’s bothering him when he catches the ball off the end of the bat.
He’s wearing a protective sleeve and, importantly, he has continued playing.
He even picked up a hit and scored a run Wednesday.
So here’s the question:
Is Manny headed for the Jacked List?
Right now, no.
He’s not on the IL, and there hasn’t been an announcement that he’s going there.
But we’re watching this one closely.
Because the Padres are fighting for October, Manny’s bat has already been struggling, and a hand injury is about the last thing you want your cleanup hitter dealing with down the stretch.
If that finger is contributing to what we’ve been seeing at the plate, the Padres have a decision to make.
Keep running him out there and hope he can play through it?
Or give him enough time to get healthy before the games get even bigger?
We’re looking into it.
THE DODGERS LOST. ARIZONA DIDN’T.
The Dodgers lost again.
Atlanta beat them 6-5 on a Ha-Seong Kim walk-off single in the ninth.
UNJACKED.
Arizona won too.
The Diamondbacks shut out the Cubs 2-0, with Eduardo Rodriguez throwing seven scoreless innings and Jordan Lawlar hitting the home run that finally broke a scoreless tie in the sixth.
Arizona is not going away.
I thought at some point they might drop off.
They’re not.
The Padres are trying to hold their Wild Card position, Arizona is right there with them, and the Dodgers have finally started losing some games.
This is going to be a fun September.
ARIZONA REFUSING TO GO AWAY: UNJACKED.
DODGERS LOSING: VERY UNJACKED.
IN OTHER SPORTS NEWS
College football hasn’t even really started yet and somehow we already have a fight over whether former NFL players should be allowed to go back to college.
The SEC is now threatening major penalties, including coach suspensions, for schools that use players with previous professional experience. The Big Ten and Big 12 have adopted similar restrictions as this whole eligibility mess keeps developing.
If you’ve played professional football, then want to go back and play college ball again, looks like you’re Jacked Up.
Meanwhile, the US Open is underway, and American Ben Shelton comes in as the highest-ranked American man after defending his Canadian Open title.
No American man has won the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003.
Football is almost here.
The NFL season starts September 9.
Can’t wait.
TODAY’S JUS SCORECARD
Jackson Merrill: UNJACKED.
Randy Vásquez: VERY UNJACKED.
Jake Cronenworth’s diving catch: VERY UNJACKED.
Manny Machado: JACKED UP? We’re watching.
Arizona refusing to go away: UNJACKED.
Dodgers losing: VERY UNJACKED.
And Merrill, if you’re reading this one too:
Do it again Friday.
If it’s sports and it’s Jacked Up, we cover it.
