Athletics 6, Padres 5
SAN DIEGO -- Second baseman Eric Sogard bounced a run-scoring single through the middle of the Padres infield with two out in the top of the ninth Tuesday to give the Oakland A's a 6-5 victory over San Diego at Petco Park and a sweep of the clubs' two-game interleague series.
It was the third straight loss for the Padres and their first under Pat Murphy, who was named the club's interim manager Tuesday morning. Padres general manager A.J. Preller fired Bud Black after eight-plus seasons as the Padres manager a day earlier.
With two out in the ninth, Padres right-handed closer Craig Kimbrel (1-2) walked A's lead-off hitter Billy Burns, who stole second. Sogard, a former second-round draft pick of the Padres, rolled a single past Padres shortstop Clint Barmes allowing Burns to score from second.
Right-handed reliever Evan Scribner (2-1) got the win. Right-hander Tyler Clippard picked up his 10th save.
The Padres had tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the eighth against the A's bullpen, the tying blow being a two-out homer to left by right fielder Matt Kemp. The 386-foot drive off Scribner was only Kemp's third as a Padre and his first of the season at Petco Park.
Earlier, center fielder Melvin Upton Jr. and first baseman Yonder Alonso opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Scribner then replaced left-hander Drew Pomeranz on the mound for the A's and got left fielder Justin Upton to ground into a double play while his brother was scoring from third.
Burns robbed the Padres of two runs in the first then put Oakland up 3-2 with a two-run triple to cap the A's three-run fifth inning against struggling Padres' right-handed starter Andrew Cashner.
With one out in the first and Alonso on with a single, Justin Upton hit a line drive to center. Burns raced to the wall. Not only did he leap and catch the ball above the fence, Burns doubled Alonso off first to end the inning.
Rookie catcher Austin Hedges ended the scoreless tie with his first major league homer with one out in the third. The Padre ended a 0-for-16 streak that lowered his batting average to .080 with a line drive to left off A's left-handed starter Scott Kazmir.
The Padres made it 2-0 in the fourth but wasted an opportunity to break the game open.
Justin Upton opened the inning with a single. After Kemp struck out, third baseman Will Middlebrooks singled to put runners at the corners. Barmes put down a perfect bunt for a single that scored Upton. But Kazmir struck out second baseman Cory Spangenberg and Hedges to end the threat.
For only the second time in 14 starts this season, Cashner entered the fifth working on a shutout. And he retired two of the first three A's he faced in the fifth around a double by third baseman Max Muncy.
But Cashner walked the A's No. 8 hitter, left fielder Sam Fuld, and gave up a run-scoring single to Kazmir, whose line drive inside the third-base bag ended an 0-for-37 run for Oakland pitchers in interleague games.
Burns followed with a line drive to right-center that went for a two-run triple when Kemp took a terrible angle to the ball.
Melvin Upton single-handedly tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. He reached first when Kazmir threw wildly on Upton's swinging bunt for an error. Upton stole second, moved to third on Alonso's ground out to second and scored when Kazmir balked while Upton was trying to steal home.
The tie, however, was short-lived.
A's right fielder Josh Reddick singled to center to open the inning off Cashner and second baseman Ben Zobrist followed with his 350-foot homer down the line in right.
NOTES: A's 1B Ike Davis, who has been on the disabled list since May 14 with a strained left quad muscle, is expected to be activated Wednesday or Thursday when the club returns to Oakland to host the Padres. ... A's RHP Edward Mujica, who has been on the disabled list since May 22 with a fractured right thumb, will make at least one more rehab appearance before rejoining the club. ... Dave Roberts, who managed the Padres Monday night in the wake of Bud Black being fired as manager, returned to being bench coach Tuesday after Pat Murphy was named the interim manager for the rest of the season. The Padres will not be making any changes to their on-the-field coaching staff.