Merrill's 2 homers off Wheeler help the Padres beat the Phillies 5-4

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jackson Merrill broke out of a slump with two home runs off All-Star Zack Wheeler, and Manny Machado hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the seventh inning for the San Diego Padres, who won their second straight game against the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4 on Saturday.

Merrill hadn't homered since May 27, a span of 35 games. He hit a two-run, opposite-field shot to left center with one out in the second to tie the game at 2. He appeared relieved and gently pumped his right fist as he rounded first base and then motioned toward the Padres' bullpen.

His solo shot to right center with one out in the sixth tied the game at 4.

Machado's sac fly off Jordan Romano brought in Fernando Tatis Jr., who had greeted Tanner Banks (2-1) with a one-out single.

Wheeler was named to the National League All-Star team but won't pitch because of his start Saturday. He was replaced Friday by San Diego reliever Adrian Morejon.

Wheeler allowed four runs and six hits in six innings, struck out six and walked one. It was just the fourth time in 19 starts this season that Wheeler allowed more than two earned runs.

Edmundo Sosa hit a go-ahead, two-run single with two outs in the fifth to chase Yu Darvish. It was one inning after Sosa replaced injured third baseman Alec Bohm.

Darvish allowed four runs and five hits, struck out two and walked three. He had been sidelined by right elbow inflammation from spring training until making his season debut on Monday night.

David Morgan (1-1) pitched one inning for the win and Jeremiah Estrada pitched a perfect ninth for his third save.

Merrill is the third player with multiple homers in a game against Wheeler, joining Buster Posey (April 20, 2021) and Cody Bellinger (June 19, 2017).

Merrill's first homer.

Phillies LHP Cristopher Sánchez (7-2, 2.59 ERA) and Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (9-2, 3.07) are scheduled to start the series finale Sunday.

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Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler works against a San Diego Padres batter during the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 12, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado, left, throws to first base on a groundout ht by Philadelphia Phillies' Edmundo Sosa to end the top of the seventh inning in a baseball game Saturday, July 12, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler works against a San Diego Padres batter during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 12, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)

San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill, right, celebrates with Gavin Sheets, left, after hitting a two-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, July 12, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)

San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill watches his home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, July 12, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Orlando Ramirez)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)