Padres pregame: Jackson Merrill (ankle) good to go, Ryan O’Hearn back in lineup

LOS ANGELES — Jackson Merrill acknowledged he’d rolled his left ankle trying to get out of the box on what could have been a leadoff double in the ninth inning Friday night.

He’d spent a good amount of time on the training table after Saturday’s game and nodded that he was indeed OK.

Toward that point, Merrill — who hasn’t had a game off since July 20 — is again in the lineup for Sunday’s 1:10 p.m. first pitch (Padres.TV), but he did have his left ankle taped as he went to hit in the cage before the series finale.

Merrill will hit clean-up in the first lineup against a right-handed starter this weekend.

Series finale. pic.twitter.com/x229J7DwjH

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) August 17, 2025

That means Ryan O’Hearn is getting his first start since Wednesday. He’ll bat sixth and play first base as Luis Arraez, in the two-hole, gets a DH day.

Ramón Laureano is in left field and Freddy Fermin is starting a third straight game behind the plate.

Merrill was 0-for-4 on Saturday, dropping his batting line to .262/.319/.415 and snapping a small five-game hit streak in which he went 8-for-17 with three doubles and a homer.

His one-out hit in the ninth-inning on Friday likely would have been a double had he not rolled the ankle as he got out of the batter’s box.

Merrill still represented the tying run when Laureano struck out and O’Hearn flied out to end the game.

Merrill lined out twice on Saturday, flied out and grounded out. He also made his first error of the season in center field on the flyball that Freddie Freeman placed between him and right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., allowing two runs to score as the Dodgers built a 5-0 lead in the second inning.

After the game, Merrill shrugged off the gaffe as a one-off.

“I dropped it,” Merrill said. “That’s all. It hit my glove. I should have caught it. I’m not going to really pout over it. I dropped a ball.”

He added: “It was just in between us. I’ve done it a million times before. I just happened to (not) catch this time. I’m not going to be disappointed in myself. (Expletive) happens sometimes. Can’t take it back.”

The back-to-back losses have dropped the Padres (69-54) one game behind the Dodgers (70-53) in the NL West and a half-game behind the Cubs (69-53) in the race for the NL’s top wild-card spot.

Here is how LA — which has already clinched the season series — will line up for the series finale:

Today’s #Dodgers lineup vs. Padres: pic.twitter.com/ajlcUmJZ7k

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 17, 2025

Sunday’s pitching matchup

Padres RHP Yu Darvish (2-3, 5.61 ERA)

He threw a season-high 84 pitches in his last start, limiting the Giants to a run over six innings in a win in San Francisco. It was Darvish’s second quality start in seven trips since returning from the injured list. Darvish threw two gems at Dodger Stadium in last year’s NLDS (13⅔ IP, 3 ER), had a 1.72 ERA in three regular-season starts last year against them and has a 2.27 ERA in 15 career starts against LA.

Here is how Darvish has fared in the regular season against current Dodgers:

Dodgers RHP Tyler Glasnow (1-1, 3.08 ERA)

He has a 2.34 ERA in six starts since returning from the injured list. Glasnow walked four but allowed just two runs in 5⅔ innings in his last start. He has not won since his March 31 start. He posted a 2.84 ERA in three starts against the Padres last year, all no-decisions, but he was injured and did not pitch in the postseason.

Here is how Glasnow has fared in the regular season vs. current Padres: