SAN DIEGO (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a go-ahead, three-run homer and pinch-hitter Austin Hays connected for a two-run shot in his first at-bat with San Diego as the Padres beat the AL West-leading Houston Astros 7-2 on Sunday.
Jackson Merrill and Gavin Sheets also went deep for the Padres, who took two of three in the series and remained one game out of a National League playoff spot.
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Houston Astros' Jose Altuve reacts after grounding out during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)
San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., right, celebrates with teammate Freddy Fermin at home plate after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)
San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. advances to first base after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)
San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. runs near third base after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)
San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. tosses his bat after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)
Randy Vásquez and three relievers combined on a two-hitter to help the Padres to their 12th victory in 16 games.
Vásquez (8-6) pitched five solid innings, retiring his final 10 batters after allowing Daulton Varsho's two-run homer with two outs in the second. It was Varsho's eighth home run this season and first since being acquired from Toronto before the trade deadline last Monday.
The Padres began their comeback in the bottom of the inning when Merrill homered to straightaway center field off Cristian Javier (1-3). It was Merrill's 18th.
Tatis hit a 421-foot drive to the third level of the Western Metal Supply Co. brick warehouse in the left-field corner with two outs in the fourth to give San Diego a 4-2 lead. It was his 11th.
Sheets greeted reliever AJ Blubaugh with a leadoff shot to right in the sixth. It was his 15th.
Hays, signed earlier in the day, batted for Sheets in the eighth and homered to left off Bryan King. It was his second.
Vásquez held the Astros to two hits with one strikeout and no walks.
Astros: RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-0, 2.84 ERA) is scheduled to start Monday night's series opener at San Francisco, which will counter with RHP Blade Tidwell (0-0, 3.18).
Padres: RHP Casey Mize (4-7, 3.40 ERA) makes his first home start since being acquired from Detroit last Monday when he opposes Milwaukee RHP Logan Henderson (6-1, 2.70).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve reacts after grounding out during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)
San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., right, celebrates with teammate Freddy Fermin at home plate after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)
San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. advances to first base after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)
San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. runs near third base after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)
San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. tosses his bat after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy chided the international community Wednesday for not taking a tougher stance against Russia over its escalating bombardment of civilian areas of Ukraine.
At the end of August, Russia launched a week of nighttime and daylight attacks on Kyiv in its heaviest sustained bombardment of the Ukrainian capital since its full-scale invasion began more than four years ago. The relentless missile and drone strikes have continued this month and aim to sap civilian morale, Ukrainian officials say.
International economic sanctions on Russia and efforts to isolate Moscow diplomatically haven’t stopped the invasion. Zelenskyy urged countries to step up the pressure.
“Unfortunately, there has been too little response from the international community to these strikes, which are taking people’s lives practically every day,” he said on social media.
“But a response is needed — Moscow must not go into the winter believing that it can get away with missile and drone terror without consequences,” he said.
The United Nations said last month that increasing Russian aerial attacks killed or wounded more Ukrainian civilians in July than in any month since March 2022, with 437 killed and more than 2,600 wounded.
In all, more than 16,800 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and more than 51,000 wounded since the Russian invasion, according to the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.
The U.S. has renewed its push to end the fighting, sending special envoys over the weekend to Kyiv and Moscow, although Washington’s efforts haven’t yet delivered any substantial progress. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said late Tuesday that the Ukraine-Russia talks were “substantive” but much remains to be done.
Russia's aerial attacks overnight into Wednesday killed at least two people and wounded seven, Ukrainian officials said, as Moscow fired ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones at six regions.
Four of the wounded were in a 22-story residential building in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district, where a drone damaged the 11th floor and started a fire on the 12th floor, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.
Olha Smal, 62, who lives on the 12th floor, said the blast wave flung her across her kitchen. One of her bedrooms caught fire, and smoke quickly filled the apartment, she said. Her pregnant neighbor was wounded.
“You live one day at a time. You don’t know what will happen to you tomorrow, or even what will happen today,” she told The Associated Press. “It’s very, very hard.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its forces hit a drone factory warehouse in Kyiv.
It also claimed strikes on fuel reservoirs and an electric substation in the port city of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine.
The Russian military also struck a ship heading to Odesa with military cargo and logistical facilities at Ukraine’s Starokozache border crossing with Moldova, the ministry said. The border strike killed two people, Ukrainian authorities said.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is responding to Moscow’s strikes with daily long-range attacks on infrastructure deep inside Russia.
He said the latest Ukrainian strikes targeted Novorossiysk, a Black Sea port in Russia’s Krasnodar region. The attack hit a naval base, including a terminal used to load oil, military port facilities, and warships carrying cruise missiles, according to Zelenskyy.
The Novorossiysk naval base is a key hub for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, providing maintenance and logistical support for its ships, according to Ukraine’s General Staff.
Krasnodar Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev said that four people, including a child, were killed and 29 others were wounded in the drone attack on Novorossiysk.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 596 Ukrainian drones from late Tuesday until early Wednesday.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Firefighters work on a partially damaged residential building following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Firefighters work on a partially damaged residential building following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Locals watch as firefighters work on a partially damaged residential building following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A woman peers from a window of a partially damaged residential building following a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
