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Kouz, Peavy lead Padres to 6-3 win over D-Backs

Jun 9, 2009 - 5:52 AM By BERNIE WILSON AP Sports Writer

SAN DIEGO(AP) -- Jake Peavy limped after running out a sacrifice bunt in the fifth inning and again as he walked off the mound for the final time in the seventh.

The San Diego Padres' ace knew he had to get at least that far after a marathon 18-inning game the day before, and he delivered in a 6-3 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night. Kevin Kouzmanoff did his part, too, tying his career-high with four RBIs while batting behind Adrian Gonzalez, who drew three more walks.

Peavy, who's been bothered recently by tendinitis in his right ankle, bounced back from the shortest start of his career.

"When your ankle's not 100 percent, you're going to feel it doing things," Peavy said. "You don't realize how valuable those things are until they're a little aggravated and you're out there pushing off and trying to throw the ball as hard as you can."

Manager Bud Black, pitching coach Darren Balsley and trainer Todd Hutcheson came out to check on their star pitcher after he allowed a double to Felipe Lopez with two outs in the seventh. He then retired Chris Young.

"It's a constant evaluation and we feel like I'm not doing anything to put myself, my arm, in jeopardy," Peavy said. "I want to be out there for these guys. I want to battle and get in that wild-card race and hopefully make a run at the Dodgers if those guys falter."

Peavy (6-6) went seven innings, allowing two earned runs and seven hits. He struck out eight and walked two. He tied Randy Jones for second place on the Padres' all-time wins list with 92. The franchise record is 100, held by the late Eric Show.

Last Tuesday night, Peavy left after just one inning of a 10-5 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies due to the flu. His start was pushed back a day to give him more time to recover.

The Padres salvaged a split of the four-game series a day after losing 9-6 in 18 innings.

Kouzmanoff hit a two-run single in the four-run fifth inning and a two-run double in the seventh. Gonzalez, who continues to lead the majors with 22 home runs, was walked three times, once intentionally. He leads the majors with 47 walks, including nine in this series and 20 in the last 10 games.

"It is a situation because of what Adrian is doing that teams are going to pitch him awfully tough," Black said. "We've talked about the need for not only the guys behind Adrian, but the guys in front of him to get on to make it much more difficult for him to be pitched around if guys are on in front of him. If they do that, then the guys behind him have to make the pitcher pay. From a pitching standpoint, you don't want to just continue to put guys on base.

Kouzmanoff flied out with the bases loaded in the first and then grounded into a double play in the fourth.

"It's tough to erase them," he said of the early at-bats. "When you don't get the job done, it's tough to deal with. It's frustrating. But it's important to have a short-term memory."

Kouzmanoff "did a good job of putting together a good at-bat and hitting the ball where it was pitched," Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said of the seventh-inning double.

Heath Bell pitched the ninth for his major league-leading 17th save, in 18 chances.

Arizona's Jon Garland lost his fourth straight start and for the fifth time in six starts.

Trailing 2-0 in the fifth, San Diego rallied for four runs on three hits, two walks and a hit batter. Kouzmanoff had a two-run single, Tony Gwynn Jr. an RBI base hit and David Eckstein a sacrifice fly.

Kouzmanoff chased Garland when his two-out double in the seventh dropped in just beyond the glove of Eric Byrnes, who was trying to run it down in left-center. Gwynn was aboard on a walk and Gonzalez had been intentionally walked ahead of Kouzmanoff.

Garland (4-6) allowed six runs and seven hits in 6 2-3 innings, walked five and struck out one.

"A little erratic early," Hinch said. "He settled in fine. He was battling his mechanics a little bit."

Arizona's Josh Whitesell hit an RBI single in the fourth and another run scored on left fielder Chase Headley's fielding error.

Notes: Hinch said OF Justin Upton is doing better after leaving Sunday's game with an aggravated left shoulder. Upton sat out Monday night and Hinch said he'll reconsider Upton's status Tuesday night before the opener of a home series against San Francisco.