Jackson Merrill's Padres teammate calls him a 'freak' amid playoff heroics.

The San Diego Padres defeated the Atlanta Braves in the National League Wild Card Series. They were led by rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill, who scored two runs in the Padres' Game 2 win. After the game. Merrill's Padres teammates spoke glowingly about the rookie with ESPN's Buster Olney after the game.

“A superstar,” Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth said. “A freak.”

Merrill capped a thrilling third inning with a two-run triple to make the score 5-1. It was the Padres' sixth straight two-out hit. Merrill said it shows how tough the team has been all season.

“This is a group of brothers,” Merrill told Olney. “In the first inning we get bases loaded, no outs and we don’t score. But we don't look back, we move forward. Six two-out hits in a row! I don't think that happens very often. That’s what you call a group of brothers just working together and trying to tackle the runs.”

Now the Padres face their division rival Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-five division series. Last year, Los Angeles was defeated by the Diamondbacks in the Division Series. They need to go above and beyond to make their offseason moves pay off. This will be Shohei Ohtni's first must-watch playoff series on TV.

The Padres' chances in the National League playoffs