Padres 3, A's 1
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Matt Kemp and Derek Norris hit solo home runs, right-hander Ian Kennedy threw six strong innings, and interim manager Pat Murphy got his first victory as the San Diego Padres defeated the Oakland A's 3-1 on Thursday afternoon at O.co Coliseum.
The Padres (33-36) ended their four-game losing streak and snapped Oakland's four-game winning streak.
San Diego won for the first time since manager Bud Black was fired. Murphy lost his first two games as interim manager, including a 16-2 bashing Wednesday night when the A's had a season-high 20 hits and set another high for runs.
Kennedy (4-5) held the A's (29-40) to one run on four hits over six innings, striking out four and walking one. He had his fourth straight solid start, going 2-0 over that stretch and allowing just seven earned runs.
A's right-hander Kendall Graveman (3-4) had his sixth straight strong start since being recalled from Triple-A Nashville. He gave up two runs on five hits, including solo home runs to Kemp and Norris, over seven innings. Graveman, who held the Padres hitless for 3 2/3 innings, struck out six and walked one.
Catcher Josh Phegley hit a solo home run in the sixth inning for the A's. Shortstop Marcus Semien, third baseman Brett Lawrie and first baseman Stephen Vogt each had a double.
Padres relievers Shawn Kelley, Brandon Maurer and Craig Kimbrel blanked Oakland over the final three innings. Kimbrel pitched a scoreless ninth for his 17th save.
Kemp gave the Padres a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, homering with two outs. Kemp launched Graveman's 2-2 slider into the left-field seats, ending Graveman's no-hit bid. The home run was Kemp's fourth of the season and second against the A's in the past three games.
Graveman had struck out all three batters he had faced in the third and fanned Norris leading off the fourth. After retiring Justin Upton on a ground ball, Graveman gave up a home run to Kemp and a ringing double to third baseman Yonder Alonso on back-to-back pitches.
Norris, who made his first career start at first base, increased San Diego's lead to 2-0 with a leadoff home run in the top of the sixth inning against his former team. He ripped Graveman's 1-1 cutter down the left-field line for his eighth home run of the season.
Phegley cut San Diego's lead to 2-1 with a leadoff home run to left off Kennedy, his third blast of the season. Kennedy was ahead 1-2 in the count after throwing three straight sliders, but Phegley hammered his inside fastball over the fence.
The Padres answered with a run in the eighth. Melvin Upton led off with a triple to right-center as center fielder Billy Burns and right fielder Josh Reddick collided near the wall. Reddick got the worst of the collision and remained on the ground for a few minutes while being examined by a trainer, who appeared to check his neck. Reddick, however, stayed in the game.
With one out, Justin Upton brought his older brother home with a sacrifice fly. Vogt made a running catch of his pop-up down the right-field line in foul territory, but Melvin Upton tagged up and easily beat his throw home.
NOTES: Padres C Derek Norris made his first career start at first base, and 1B Yonder Alonso started at third base for the second time this season. Norris made one previous major-league appearance at first base, playing one inning for the A's in 2013 against Seattle. ... Oakland 1B Ike Davis (strained left quadriceps) played his fifth rehab game Wednesday for Triple-A Nashville, and manager Bob Melvin said, "We'll probably look to activate him shortly." ... A's INF/OF Ben Zobrist was out of the lineup after starting nine straight games. Zobrist underwent left knee surgery on April 28, and Melvin said it was time to give him a break, even though he had gone 8-for-14 and scored 10 runs in his previous four games. ... Padres SS Alexi Amarista on Wednesday became the fifth major-league position player since 1974 to hit a home run in a game before making an appearance as a pitcher. Amarista hit a solo homer in the sixth inning then retired the only batter he faced in the eighth for the third out.