Cronenworth homers twice, Padres beat Marlins 7-3 to lower wild-card magic number to 2

Jake Cronenworth hit a pair of two-run homers and drove in five runs for the San Diego Padres, who beat the Miami Marlins 7-3 on Sunday to move closer to clinching their third straight postseason berth.

Fernando Tatis Jr. hit his 25th homer for the Padres, who won for the 13th time in 14 games and swept the Marlins for the second time this season.

San Diego reduced its magic number to two for earning a wild-card spot.

The Padres and Cubs remain tied at 87-69 for the top wild-card spot with six games to go, although Chicago holds the tiebreaker. Philadelphia stayed one game back.

The top wild-card team will host a best-of-three opening series. The Cubs beat the Padres 2-1 in the wild-card round last year in Chicago.

Cronenworth lofted a two-run shot into the home run porch in the right-field corner off Sandy Alcantara (13-11) with two outs in the second.

He connected again to right off Bradley Blalock with two outs in the eighth, his seventh. It was his second career multihomer game.

Walker Buehler took a one-hitter and a 4-0 lead into the seventh before allowing Javier Sanoja's three-run homer to left with two outs, his 10th.

That was it for Buehler (9-6), who allowed three runs and three hits while striking out six and walking two in a season-high 6 2/3 innings. He retired 11 straight at one point.

Tatis homered into the Padres bullpen in left-center off Blalock leading off the seventh. It's his fourth career 25-homer season.

Cronenworth and Samad Taylor hit consecutive RBI singles in the fourth.

Alcantara allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings, struck out three and walked one.

Marlins RHP Janson Junk (6-9, 4.50 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series at the Chicago Cubs.

The Padres haven't named a starter for Tuesday night's series opener at the Los Angeles Dodgers.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara works against a San Diego Padres batter in the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)

San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr. celebrates after hitting a home run in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)

San Diego Padres' Jackson Merrill celebrates after scoring off Jake Cronenworth's double in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)

San Diego Padres' Jake Cronenworth, second from left, celebrates after his two-run home run with Xander Bogaerts, left, in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)

San Diego Padres' Jake Cronenworth, right, celebrates with third base coach Bob Henley, left, after hitting a two-run home run in the second inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Karl Anderson)

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and wounded a man Sunday afternoon in Texas' capital of Austin, local authorities said, and anti-ICE protesters quickly gathered at the scene.

The unnamed man was in serious but stable condition at a hospital after being shot once in the torso on the city's north side, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said at a news conference with the mayor and other city officials.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not participate in the news conference and didn’t immediately respond to requests for details.

Austin police officers were not involved in the operation or the shooting, which occurred after a traffic stop, Davis told reporters.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a Democrat, said he wants the city's police department to be involved in the investigation so it can provide “clear, third-party eyes” in the process. Watson said he does not think it would be appropriate for ICE to conduct an investigation on its own.

Austin residents have “a right to feel safe in their city,” Watson said. A proper investigation will only enhance credibility, he added.

Davis said she did not yet know the nationality of the person who was shot. The chief said there were not many facts she could provide so soon after the incident, but added that her department’s special investigation unit was at the scene.

A dark blue Toyota Corolla was parked under an overpass with damage to its passenger-side door and what appeared to be bullet holes, local media reported.

A large law enforcement presence was at the scene, along with a crowd of about a hundred protesters. Some demonstrators cursed at police officers holding riot shields, while others yelled out as passing cars honked in support of the protest. One man held a sign saying, “Nobody is safe” and, on the other side, “ICE Nazi.”

Asked if Austin authorities knew where the involved federal agent is, given that agents have left states after previous shootings nationwide, the mayor said: “We do not know that. But my hope would be that, an agent that’s involved in an officer-involved shooting would not leave the city. Certainly not leave the state."

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, a Democrat representing parts of Austin, called for transparency as the shooting is investigated.

“It is awful that this horror has come to our doorstep," Casar told reporters. "For Austin to be safe, ICE should end its surge here.”

The shooting comes as ICE surges enforcement across the country this summer, producing more than 50,000 arrests a month for the first time in its history in July and August.

In July, an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, of Houston, after federal agents driving unmarked vehicles pursued him while he was taking his construction crew to a job site.

Also in July, 25-year-old Johan Sebastián, a Colombian man, was shot by an ICE officer in Maine. The officer is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood and never should have been given a badge and gun to patrol American streets, several of his close relatives told The Associated Press.

The administration’s enforcement efforts were widely condemned last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota.

Weber reported from Los Angeles. Contributing were Associated Press journalists Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; Kimberlee Kruesi in Providence, R.I.; and Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis.

In this photo taken with a smart phone Police stand in front of the area where an ICE officer shot a man in Austin, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn)

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson speaks during a news conference at Austin City Hall, Sept. 20, 2026, after a federal immigration agent shot and wounded a man in North Austin, Texas (Sara Diggins/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

U.S. Rep. Greg Casar speaks during a news conference at Austin City Hall, Sept. 20, 2026, after a federal immigration agent shot and wounded a man in North Austin, Texas (Sara Diggins/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis speaks during a news conference at Austin City Hall, Sept. 20, 2026, after a federal immigration agent shot and wounded a man in North Austin, Texas (Sara Diggins/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

In this photo taken with a smart phone Police block a street after a shooting involving an ICE officer in Austin, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn)

In this photo taken with a smart phone Police block a street after a shooting involving an ICE officer in Austin, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn)

FILE - A federal agent wears an Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge in New York, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)