Three-run homer buries Pineiro, Cards

SAN DIEGO -- Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a ball as well as anyone can at Petco Park, and still lowered his head and ran hard out of the batter's box.

His three-run homer sailed well beyond the fence in straightaway center, a rare clutch hit that carried the San Diego Padres to a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals late Tuesday night.

"In this ballpark you never know," Kouzmanoff said. "I knew it had a chance, but at the same time, the ball doesn't travel in this park. I knew I got it pretty good."

The shot came too late to give Greg Maddux the victory, but it ended a 24-hour span in which the Padres heard some pointed comments from general manager Kevin Towers and lost ace Jake Peavy to the disabled list with a swollen right elbow.

"It's nice to win. Maybe we'll do it again tomorrow," Maddux said with a wry smile.

A night earlier, after an 8-2 loss to the Cardinals, Towers said the Padres were "bad" and threatened wholesale changes if their play didn't improve. Manager Bud Black met with his players before Tuesday's game.

"Every win's nice. I don't know whether it eases anything, but I think we all know we need to play better," Black said. "We need to do more of what we did tonight, which is timely hitting. I thought we had good at-bats throughout the night. Even though we only had six hits, I saw better takes, better swings."

The win was just the fifth in 16 games for the Padres (17-30), who continue to have the worst record in the majors. St. Louis' three-game winning streak ended.