ROYALS 8, PADRES 4
at Peoria Sports Complex
Tuesday, March 25

Padres at the plate: Kevin Kouzmanoff had an RBI triple to the wall in right-center field in the first inning that scored Adrian Gonzalez, who singled with two outs. Brian Giles, who had two hits, added an RBI double in the second inning. Michael Barrett had three hits, including two doubles, the second bringing in a run in the sixth inning.

Royals at the plate: Alberto Callaspo continued his strong spring by getting the Royals' first hit of the game, an RBI single to right in the third inning. He later added a ninth-inning single. Esteban German had the big hit in a five-run sixth inning with a two-run double. Damon Hollins also had an RBI single in the inning. Justin Huber broke the game open with a two-run double in the eighth inning.

Padres on the mound: Starting pitcher Justin Germano cruised through the first five innings, allowing one run on three hits with 11 ground-ball outs. He run into some trouble in the Royals' five-run sixth inning, though only two of the six runs he allowed in 5 1/3 innings were earned. Germano is considered the favorite to win the fifth-starter spot in the rotation.

Royals on the mound: Starting pitcher Brett Tomko, on the bubble for a spot in the rotation, helped himself by allowing one earned run over four innings with no walks and three strikeouts. Tomko allowed five hits, four going for extra bases. Chin-hui Tsao and Ron Mahay each tossed a scoreless inning in relief.

Cactus League records: Padres 11-12-3, Royals 15-11

Up next for Royals: Gil Meche has his final tuneup for Opening Day in Detroit as he faces the Seattle Mariners at 3:05 p.m. CT on Wednesday at Surprise Stadium. He's expected to be limited to about five innings after excelling in his last outing of 6 2/3 innings. Erik Bedard will start for the Mariners. Also available for the Royals: Jimmy Gobble, Joel Peralta, Leo Nunez and Neal Musser.

Up next for the Padres: Jake Peavy, the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner, makes his final Cactus League start at 1:05 p.m. PT on Wednesday against the Texas Rangers at the Peoria Sports Complex. Peavy, who won 19 games last season, will get the starting nod on Opening Day on March 31 against the Houston Astros at PETCO Park.