Padres 9, Indians 4

By TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer

CLEVELAND (AP) Ryan Klesko's 32nd birthday wasn't the only thing the San Diego Padres felt like celebrating.

Klesko and Rondell White homered and Jake Peavy got his first win since April 25 as the San Diego Padres rallied for a 9-4 victory over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night.

Trailing 3-0 after four innings, the Padres scored four runs in the fifth and five in the sixth to help Peavy (5-5) get his first win in nine starts and avoid being swept in their first ever series against the Indians.

``He's had some tough losses,'' Padres manager Bruce Bochy said of Peavy. ``We haven't given him much run support, so this was great for him.''

Klesko triggered the five-run sixth with his 12th homer, a 449-foot shot to right-center.

``That was a big win for us,'' said Klesko, back at Jacobs Field for the first time since the 1995 World Series when he hit homers in Games 3, 4, and 5 in Cleveland while playing for Atlanta.

``I have great feelings about this place,'' he said, ``especially since that was the only year we (the Braves) won it. It's a great hitter's park and it was nice to come back here.''

Mark Loretta had three RBIs for the Padres, who finally got their 20th win.

Jody Gerut and Ben Broussard homered for the Indians.

Peavy had lost four times and had four no-decisions in the eight starts since his last victory. The right-hander allowed three runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings.

The Padres were 0-8 in Peavy's previous eight starts.

``I've been battling,'' he said. ``It's all about winning or losing. It doesn't matter how many quality starts you have, the bottom line is if you win or lose.''

Indians rookie starter Jason Davis (5-5) dominated the Padres for the first four innings, but was tagged for four runs three earned in the fifth and two in the sixth for his first loss since May 8 a span of six starts.

Davis knows what he did wrong.

``I went out with my 'A' game, but made some rookie mistakes,'' Davis said. ``I got caught up in the moment, couldn't stay within myself and it was costly.''

Klesko came up during San Diego's four-run fifth but didn't get to swing his bat as Gary Matthews Jr. got picked off first base for the final out.

Klesko made the most of his at-bat in the sixth with his shot into the seats that gave the Padres a 5-3 lead.

After putting two on, Davis was replaced by Dan Miceli, who gave up a single to Gary Bennett to load the bases.

Donaldo Mendez followed with a potential double-play grounder to short, but rookie second baseman Brandon Phillips dropped shortstop John McDonald's throw as a run scored and another run came in when the ball was kicked into shallow left by a sliding Bennett.

``It was nice to get a break there,'' Bochy said. ``We haven't had a lot.''

Indians manager Eric Wedge said Phillips' drop hurt.

``That was a big play for us,'' he said. ``We make it, it's 5-3 and we're still in the game.''

Loretta capped San Diego's inning with a two-run single to make it 9-3.

White's 11th homer ignited San Diego's four-run fifth that put the Padres up 4-3.< ^Notes:@ McDonald went 2-for-4 in his first game replacing Omar Vizquel, who underwent knee surgery Thursday and will be out at least three weeks. ... The start of the game was delayed 46 minutes by rain. ... Gerut has hit safely in 13 straight games and is batting .383 (18-for-47) with four homers and 11 RBIs during the streak. ... Peavy had a problem with the long ball earlier this season, allowing 13 homers in his first 10 starts.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)