Here’s some instant reaction, as San Diego snapped its six-game losing streak:\n\n**Of all people, Fermin plays hero** \nFor the past several weeks, just about every time Fermin has come to the plate in crunch time, Padres manager Craig Stammen has opted to pinch-hit for him. Sensible enough. Fermin is a defense-first catcher. He entered his at-bat in the seventh inning on Saturday night hitless in his last 30 at-bats.\n\nBut Stammen stuck with his guy on Saturday. And Fermin delivered the decisive, two-run homer.
Hey, if you’re going to fall into a slump that pronounced … at least break out of it like this.\n\n“What a huge swing,” Stammen said. “Exactly what we needed.”\n\nWith the Padres trailing by a run, Fermin got a first-pitch sinker from Austin Warren and launched it into the left-field seats, giving the Padres the 3-2 lead they would eventually win by. It was his first home run of the season and his first hit since May 14. He pounded his chest in the direction of the home dugout, which erupted.\n\n“I knew from the second I hit it that I hit it out of the ballpark,” Fermin said through interpreter Jorge Merlos on Padres.TV. “Obviously it was a good swing right there. Tomorrow, we’ll come out \\[looking\\] for another victory.”\n\nIt’s been a mostly dreadful season for Fermin, whose OPS only ticked back above .400 with that home run. The Padres, in no uncertain terms, need more offensive production from their catchers. They got it Saturday.
**At last, production at the bottom of the lineup** \nFermin did his part. So, too, did
**The Padres needed this from Canning** \n