Chourio, Mears help the Brewers beat the Padres 3-1 to avoid a 3-game sweep

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Jackson Chourio robbed Xander Bogaerts of a three-run home run in the first inning and Nick Mears got Luis Arraez to fly out to center to end a bases-loaded threat in the seventh as the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers beat the playoff-bound San Diego Padres 3-1 on Wednesday to avoid a three-game sweep.

The Brewers (96-63) reduced to one their magic number over Philadelphia for clinching the best record in the majors and homefield advantage through the postseason.

Brice Turang singled in Chourio with the go-ahead run with two outs in the seventh inning and Danny Jansen had a solo homer in the ninth.

These teams could meet again in the playoffs. The Padres entered the day trailing the Chicago Cubs by 1 1/2 games in the race for the National League’s top wild-card spot and the right to host a best-of-three series starting Tuesday. If the current standings hold, the Cubs would host the Padres, with the winner facing the Brewers in a division series.

The Padres also trailed the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers by 1 1/2 games.

Turang singled off All-Star Adrian Morejon (13-6) in the seventh, a half inning after Jackson Merrill had tied the game at 1 by homering off Erick Fedde. It was Merrill's 16th. Jansen hit his 13th off Jeremiah Estrada.

Turang scored in the fifth on Andrew Vaughn's double after hitting a two-out single and advancing on a two-base wild pitch by Dylan Cease.

Chourio made a perfectly timed jump to get his glove above the center field wall to rob Bogaerts of a three-run home run to end the first.

Aaron Ashby (5-2) got the final out of the sixth for the win and Abner Uribe pitched a perfect ninth for his sixth save.

Brewers RHP Quinn Priester (13-2, 3.25 ERA), originally scheduled to start Wednesday, will go Friday night against Cincinnati.

The Padres haven't named a starter for Friday night against Arizona.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill celebrates after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

San Diego Padres relief pitcher Kyle Hart works against a Milwaukee Brewers batter during the eighth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Milwaukee Brewers' Jackson Chourio, left, safely steals second base as San Diego Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts (2) is late with the tag during the seventh inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio makes the catch at the wall for the out on San Diego Padres' Jake Cronenworth during the second inning of a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Abner Uribe, right, celebrates with teammate catcher Danny Jansen after the Brewers defeated the San Diego Padres 3-1 in a baseball game Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

The U.N. Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting Thursday to discuss Iran's deadly protests at the request of the United States, even as President Donald Trump left unclear what actions he would take against the Islamic state.

Tehran appeared to make conciliatory statements in an effort to defuse the situation after Trump threatened to take action to stop further killing of protesters, including the execution of anyone detained in Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.

Iran’s crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday and some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” travel to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.

Iran previously closed its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June.

Here is the latest:

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union’s main foreign policy chief said the G7 members were “gravely concerned” by the developments surrounding the protests, and that they “strongly oppose the intensification of the Iranian authorities’ brutal repression of the Iranian people.”

The statement, published on the EU’s website Thursday, said the G7 were “deeply alarmed at the high level of reported deaths and injuries” and condemned “the deliberate use of violence” by Iranian security forces against protesters.

The G7 members “remain prepared to impose additional restrictive measures if Iran continues to crack down on protests and dissent in violation of international human rights obligations,” the statement said.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with his counterpart in Iran, who said the situation was “now stable,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Abbas Araghchi said “he hoped China will play a greater role in regional peace and stability” during the talks, according to the statement from the ministry.

“China opposes imposing its will on other countries, and opposes a return to the ‘law of the jungle’,” Wang said.

“China believes that the Iranian government and people will unite, overcome difficulties, maintain national stability, and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests,” he added. “China hopes all parties will cherish peace, exercise restraint, and resolve differences through dialogue. China is willing to play a constructive role in this regard.”

“We are against military intervention in Iran,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists in Istanbul on Thursday. “Iran must address its own internal problems… They must address their problems with the region and in global terms through diplomacy so that certain structural problems that cause economic problems can be addressed.”

Ankara and Tehran enjoy warm relations despite often holding divergent interests in the region.

Fidan said the unrest in Iran was rooted in economic conditions caused by sanctions, rather than ideological opposition to the government.

Iranians have been largely absent from an annual pilgrimage to Baghdad, Iraq, to commemorate the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim, one of the twelve Shiite imams.

Many Iranian pilgrims typically make the journey every year for the annual religious rituals.

Streets across Baghdad were crowded with pilgrims Thursday. Most had arrived on foot from central and southern provinces of Iraq, heading toward the shrine of Imam al-Kadhim in the Kadhimiya district in northern Baghdad,

Adel Zaidan, who owns a hotel near the shrine, said the number of Iranian visitors this year compared to previous years was very small. Other residents agreed.

“This visit is different from previous ones. It lacks the large numbers of Iranian pilgrims, especially in terms of providing food and accommodation,” said Haider Al-Obaidi.

Europe’s largest airline group said Thursday it would halt night flights to and from Tel Aviv and Jordan's capital Amman for five days, citing security concerns as fears grow that unrest in Iran could spiral into wider regional violence.

Lufthansa — which operates Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — said flights would run only during daytime hours from Thursday through Monday “due to the current situation in the Middle East.” It said the change would ensure its staff — which includes unionized cabin crews and pilots -- would not be required to stay overnight in the region.

The airline group also said its planes would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace, key corridors for air travel between the Middle East and Asia.

Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for several hours early Thursday without explanation.

A spokesperson for Israel’s Airport Authority, which oversees Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, said the airport was operating as usual.

Iranian state media has denied claims that a young man arrested during Iran’s recent protests was condemned to death. The statement from Iran’s judicial authorities on Thursday contradicted what it said were “opposition media abroad” which claimed the young man had been quickly sentenced to death during a violent crackdown on anti-government protests in the country.

State television didn’t immediately give any details beyond his name, Erfan Soltani. Iranian judicial authorities said Soltani was being held in a detention facility outside of the capital. Alongside other protesters, he has been accused of “propaganda activities against the regime,” state media said.

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Thursday that his government was “appalled by the escalation of violence and repression” in Iran.

“We condemn the brutal crackdown being carried out by Iran’s security forces, including the killing of protesters,” Peters posted on X.

“Iranians have the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and access to information – and that right is currently being brutally repressed,” he said.

Peters said his government had expressed serious concerns to the Iranian Embassy in Wellington.

A demonstrator lights a cigarette with a burning poster depicting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of Iran's anti-government protests, in Holon, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Protesters participate in a demonstration in support of the nationwide mass protests in Iran against the government, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)