PADRES 24, RANGERS 7
at Surprise, Ariz.
Tuesday, March 27

Rangers at the plate: Marlon Byrd, trying to win a spot in the outfield, came off the bench and hit a two-run home run in the sixth. He also had an RBI single. Jason Botts, starting for Sammy Sosa at designated hitter, had two hits.

Padres at the plate: The Padres had 25 hits but most impressive was Russell Branyan's home run in the sixth, a blast that cleared the center-field wall and the berm beyond. It landed on the walkway above, some 450 feet away. He hit another two-run home run in the eighth inning and finished with four hits. Adrian Gonzalez went 3-for-4, including a three-run home run. Sean Kazmar also homered.

Rangers on the mound: Starter Kevin Millwood, in his last outing before Opening Day, allowed 10 runs on 12 hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings. Reliever Ron Mahay gave up seven runs in the fifth inning. He gave up two home runs and retired just one batter before coming out. Eric Gagne gave up four runs on five hits in the seventh inning.

Padres on the mound: Greg Maddux pitched five scoreless innings and allowed just two hits before allowing a two-run home run in the sixth. Maddux has a 2.25 ERA and opponents are hitting .226 off him.

Cactus League records: Rangers 15-9; Padres 14-12.

Up next: The Padres are back in Surprise to play the Kansas City Royals at 1:05 p.m. PT on Wednesday with David Wells on the mound. It will be Wells' fourth start of the spring. Vicente Padilla pitches for the Rangers at 3:05 p.m. CT Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners in Peoria.