ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — Jackson Merrill hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning and Griffin Canning earned his first win as the San Diego Padres beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 on Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium III.

San Diego snapped a two-game skid against St. Louis, scoring three times in the ninth to break open a 3-1 game. Merrill’s homer to right field scored Samad Taylor, who had reached on a fielder’s choice. Fernando Tatis Jr. drove in a run earlier in the inning with a single.

The Padres took a 1-0 lead in the first on Manny Machado’s sacrifice fly. Xander Bogaerts singled home Machado in the fourth, and Tatis doubled in Will Wagner in the fifth. St. Louis scored its lone run in the bottom of the fifth on Alec Burleson’s single.

Canning (1-5) allowed one run on six hits over six innings. Kyle Leahy (5-4) took the loss. San Diego outhit St. Louis 14-6. Attendance was 29,859. Time of game was 2:52.

San Diego improved to 38-35; St. Louis fell to 40-32.