A'S 15, PADRES 6
at Peoria, Ariz.
Saturday, March 7

Padres at the plate: David Eckstein had a double in his first at-bat, an RBI single and then a sacrifice fly. Brian Giles, playing for the first time in a week because of a strained left quadriceps, had an RBI single in the third inning. Leadoff hitter Will Venable had two singles and drove in a run. Kevin Kouzmanoff had a hit in two at-bats with an RBI.

A's at the plate: Leadoff hitter Travis Buck had a double and a home run, his second of the spring, in three at-bats. Ryan Sweeney and Landon Powell each hit home runs as part of a three-run first inning. Mark Ellis broke the game open with a three-run double in the fifth inning. Sean Doolittle had two hits and drove in a run. Matt Carson had two hits as well and former Padre Rob Bowen had a two-run double. Josh Donaldson had a home run in the eighth inning.

Padres on the mound: Starting pitcher Josh Geer struggled in his second start of the spring, allowing two home runs, two doubles and three runs in the first inning. He allowed another run, on a third home run, in the second inning before he left in favor of Justin Hampson. Cla Meredith worked his third scoreless inning of the spring. It was a tough day for Cesar Ramos (six runs in two-thirds of an inning) and Chris Britton (three walks in one-third of an inning).

A's on the mound: Starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez cruised through the first two innings on Saturday, allowing two hits. He struggled in the third inning, though, allowing three runs on four hits while hitting a batter. Russ Springer, Santiago Casilla and Jeff Gray each tossed scoreless innings.

Cactus League records: A's 5-4-1; Padres 2-5-2.

Up next: The Padres travel to Tucson on Sunday for the first of two games. They'll face the Rockies on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. PT before playing the Diamondbacks on Monday at 1:05 p.m. PT. Chris Young, the No. 2 starter in the rotation behind Jake Peavy, gets the start against the Rockies on Sunday. Young is scheduled to throw three innings. The A's have a split-squad game at home against Cleveland and on the road in Scottsdale against the Giants, both at 1:05 p.m. PT. Brett Anderson will throw in Phoenix and Dana Eveland will get the start against the Giants.