García homers, Wheeler sharp as Phillies beat Padres 6-4 for season sweep

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Adolis García hit his first home run in nearly a month, Zack Wheeler allowed two hits in seven innings and the Philadelphia Phillies passed the San Diego Padres in the NL wild-card standings with a 6-4 victory on Thursday to complete a season sweep.

García, who signed with Philadelphia in the offseason to provide right-handed power to the lineup, went deep for the first time since May 6. His fifth homer this season came off San Diego starter Lucas Giolito (2-1) in the fifth inning to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.

Wheeler (5-1) took a no-hitter into the sixth before it was broken up on a bloop single by Bryce Johnson. Wheeler allowed two runs on a homer by Manny Machado while striking out eight.

The Phillies completed their second sweep of the Padres in a week, winning all six games this season. They are 24-10 under interim manager Don Mattingly and have gone from 10 games under .500 to a wild-card position in 37 days.

Bryson Stott, Trea Turner and Alec Bohm had RBI singles for the Phillies, who have won seven of their last nine games.

The other Philadelphia runs scored on a throwing error by San Diego reliever Yuki Matsui on a pickoff attempt and a fielder's choice by Brandon Marsh. It was the first time Philadelphia scored more than four runs since May 18, a span of 13 games.

Jackson Merrill homered in the ninth for the Padres, who have lost five straight games and 9 of 10, scoring a total of 17 runs in their nine losses.

The Padres return home to open a three-game series against the New York Mets on Friday. San Diego RHP Michael King (4-4, 3.18 ERA) starts against New York RHP Christian Scott (1-0, 2.97).

LHP Jesus Luzardo (4-4, 4.30) starts for the Phillies on Friday when they begin a three-day series against the Chicago White Sox and LHP Anthony Kay (5-1, 3.77).

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San Diego Padres' Manny MacHado, right, celebrates his two-run home run with teammate Gavin Sheets, during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, June 4, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Philadelphia Phillies' Zack Wheeler pitches during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Thursday, June 4, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Philadelphia Phillies' Adolis García runs the basses after hitting a home run off of San Diego Padres pitcher Lucas Giolito during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Thursday, June 4, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler pitches during the first inning of a baseball against the San Diego Padres, Thursday, June 4, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Philadelphia Phillies' players, from left, Alec Bohm, Trea Turner, Adolis García, and Bryson Stott celebrate after winning a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Thursday, June 4, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns' first two baskets of the NBA Finals were like countless others in his career. The New York forward got the ball 30 feet from the basket, surveyed the scene, drove right past his defender and scored at the rim.

These buckets, however, were not ordinary.

They were against Victor Wembanyama.

Towns helped set a tone for the Knicks in Game 1 on Wednesday night by going right at San Antonio's best player — and the unanimous pick as Defensive Player of the Year — twice in the opening minutes. Towns didn't get any more field goals against Wembanyama over the remainder of the game and didn't have to, finishing with 18 points in New York's 105-95 win.

“You just trust your work and you trust your decision-making, and I always say about being aggressive in playmaking: It may not be for the shot or get someone else a shot or get the hockey assist going,” Towns said. “For me, when I go out there, I try to be aggressive in playmaking.”

That holds true against the best defensive player on the planet.

The Knicks did a lot right in Game 1, but perhaps tops on that list was not letting the 7-foor-4 Wembanyama take over the game or even get into a rhythm on either side of the court. Wembanyama scored 26 points — on 6-for-21 shooting from the floor — and got a text from former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich between the end of Game 1 and Thursday afternoon's practice.

The message from Pop? That “I’ve been bad and I’m better than this,” Wembanyama revealed.

While that may be true, the Knicks believe Towns deserved a lot of credit for not letting Wembanyama become completely dominant in the series opener.

“Wemby, man, obviously iconic player, you’re not going to stop him, you hope he misses,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “You've got to throw different people, different coverages at him. You got to try not to send him to the free-throw line. We sent him to the free-throw line 13 times, but KAT himself did a pretty decent job of trying to lead with his chest while being physical. Again, I think it’s all due to him wanting to do whatever he can to help the team while being present.”

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New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shoots between San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) and forward Julian Champagnie (30) during the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) looks down as New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) looks towards his bench during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shoots past San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)