Freddy Fermin's first homer of season helps Padres halt 6-game slide with 3-2 win over Mets

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Light-hitting catcher Freddy Fermin launched his first homer this season to lift the San Diego Padres over the New York Mets 3-2 on Saturday night, snapping a six-game losing streak.

Fermin was hitless in his previous 30 at-bats before his two-run shot off reliever Austin Warren (1-2) in the seventh inning.

That nullified a fine performance by Mets rookie Nolan McLean, who allowed one run on three hits and three walks in six innings.

New York had two on and one out in the eighth when Juan Soto scorched a line drive to second baseman Sung-Mun Song. He snagged it and then flipped the ball to shortstop Xander Bogaerts to double off Carson Benge at second base.

Bradgley Rodriguez (1-2) worked the seventh and got the win despite giving up Marcus Semien's tiebreaking solo homer. Mason Miller pitched a hitless ninth for his 18th save.

Padres starter Griffin Canning tossed five innings against his former team. He yielded one run and three hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Semien broke a 1-all tie in the seventh when he sent Rodriguez’s first pitch over the left-field wall. Earlier in the game, Seimen snapped an 0-for-14 skid with a single.

The Padres squandered a chance in the fifth with shoddy baserunning. Song and Fernando Tatis Jr. singled, putting runners at the corners with two outs.

Tatis broke for second on a steal attempt, which drew a fake throw from Luis Torrens. The catcher then wheeled and fired to third, where Song had bit on the deception and was retired in a rundown.

San Diego manufactured a run to tie the score in the third. Song opened with a walk, stole second and scored when Tatis’ grounder up the middle ricocheted off second base into shallow right field for an RBI single.

The Mets took a 1-0 lead in the second on Brett Baty’s two-out RBI single.

Padres RHP Randy Vásquez (5-3, 3.31 ERA) starts Sunday in the series finale. RHP Huascar Brazobán (3-1, 2.25 ERA) will be New York's opener, with LHP Sean Manaea (0-1, 5.08) expected to pitch in bulk relief.

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

New York Mets pitcher Nolan McLean winds up against a San Diego Padres batter in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 6, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)

San Diego Padres' Mason Miller, right, celebrates with Freddy Fermin after the team defeated the New York Mets in a baseball game Saturday, June 6, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)

San Diego Padres' Freddy Fermin, center, celebrates with Fernando Tatis Jr. after hitting a two-run home run against the New York Mets in the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 6, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)

San Diego Padres' Freddy Fermin reacts after hitting a two-run home run against the New York Mets in the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 6, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)

San Diego Padres' Freddy Fermin celebrates after hitting a two-run home run against the New York Mets in the seventh inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 6, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — At least a dozen attacks on health facilities and workers have been recorded during Congo's Ebola outbreak as safety fears restrict the response in the worst-affected region, authorities said Saturday.

Many health workers and other frontline workers in Ituri province have also gone on strike over unpaid salaries, further complicating response efforts in what’s been declared the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. So far 2,181 cases have been recorded, including 864 deaths.

The Bundibugyo virus responsible for this outbreak is less common than others that cause Ebola disease, and there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

Many of the attacks have been carried out by angry mobs who have stormed treatment centers or targeted response teams in the field, Pierre Akilimali, incident manager for the Ebola response, said at a press briefing in Bunia, the capital of Ituri.

The attacks are not limited to healthcare teams and affect frontline workers like burial teams, according to Dr. Adelard Lufongola, operations manager for the Ebola response.

“Members of the various response teams have been held captive in some health zones. Teams responsible for safe and dignified burials have been threatened and continue to be threatened in some cemeteries and within several communities,” Lufongola said at the briefing.

Ebola spreads in the human population through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen, and with contaminated surfaces and materials. Traditional funerals in which loved ones wash and prepare bodies have been restricted, which has angered some residents.

In Ituri, which accounts for around 90% of all cases, health and aid workers have been seen leaving remote communities considered hot spots and heading to Bunia in recent days, locals told The Associated Press.

U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric on Thursday told reporters that humanitarian actors are “deeply concerned by escalating violence” impacting the Ebola response and that access to treatment centers and surrounding communities remains constrained.

“The worsening security situation has forced several humanitarian partners involved in the Ebola response to temporarily relocate staff to Bunia which is relatively safer,” he said.

The most recent attack recorded was on Wednesday, when residents in the town of Nyakunde attacked a hospital and touched an Ebola treatment center nearby.

Officials said treatment and care resumed on Thursday at the center after its occupants, including some patients, fled in the aftermath of the attack. Concerns, however, remained about risks of transmission amid the chaos.

“I fear that the aid workers involved in combating this Ebola outbreak are going to leave the area. This risks making the task of eradicating the outbreak more difficult,” said Christophe Munyanderu, a civil society leader in Ituri’s Irumu territory.

Rubble set on fire as health workers involved in Congo's Ebola response go on strike as they protest over payment issues in Bunia, Congo, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Constant Same Bagalwa)