EORIA -- Chase Headley gave the Padres a much-needed lift, hitting a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning and lifting San Diego to a 9-7 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Monday.
The Padres trailed 4-0 in the sixth and 7-4 in the ninth before rallying to beat an American League club for the first time this spring (1-12-2) and snapping a seven-game Cactus League skid overall.
"It was the kind of inning we've been seeking for awhile," San Diego manager Bud Black said. "We had walks, key hits, and aggressive base running all the things you need to keep a rally going. These are good wins and it's a good feeling -- we hadn't won in awhile and we needed one."
Headley, who had three hits, singled and scored during San Diego's four-run sixth inning and singled again in the eighth before he homered off Joel Peralta, who came in to face Headley and blew his second save of the spring.
Royals starter Kyle Davies got back on track after his only shaky outing of the spring, allowing two hits over 5 1/3 innings. He also had an RBI single in the fifth after fouling off a suicide squeeze attempt, helping the Royals build a 4-0 lead.
"[The hit] was fun, but it was more fun to go 5 1/3 and only give up one run," said Davies, who allowed only one earned run in his first 12 innings this spring before Colorado roughed him up for five in three innings on March 17.
"Any starting pitcher will tell you the key is not having two, three, four bad outings in a row. If you have one bad one, you have to bounce back," he said.
Mark Teahen, making his bid for the second base job, had an RBI single in the first and a two-run double in the fifth. Willie Bloomquist, Teahen's competition, added a two-run double in the eighth.
Notes
Padres INF Chris Burke was a late scratch from the lineup with flulike symptoms ... San Diego acquired RHP Luke Gregerson from the St. Louis Cardinals Monday in a deal that completes the transaction that sent SS Khalil Greene to St. Louis. Gregerson, 24, was 7-6 with a 3.35 ERA and 10 saves for AA Springfield last season ... The Royals and Angels combined for 15 home runs in Surprise on Sunday, part of a blustery day in Arizona that saw 44 home runs hit in the six Cactus League games played in the Valley .... The Padres reduced their roster to 39 players by optioning INF Matt Antonelli, RHP Josh Geer, C Jose Lobaton, RHP Scott Patterson, LHP Joe Thatcher and OF Will Venable to Triple-A Portland. OF Chad Huffman was reassigned to the minor league camp ... Royals 3B Alex Gordon missed his third straight game with a strained hamstring, but could play Tuesday against the A's ... The Padres signed RHP Shawn Hill to a minor league contract. Hill was released on March 18 by the Washington Nationals, where he was 1-5 with a 5.83 ERA in 63 innings last season.
