PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) -- Jake Peavy felt a little weak, and that helped him turn in his best outing of the spring.
The Padres' ace allowed one run and two hits in five innings in San Diego's 9-5 10-inning loss to the Texas Rangers on Wednesday.
Peavy struck out six and walked one, lowering his spring training ERA from 11.57 to 6.52.
"I think overall it was a pretty good day," Peavy said. "I just started to get command of everything. My arm doesn't feel real alive. I think it's pretty typical that when you don't feel your best, you concentrate more on pitching."
Texas starter Brandon McCarthy worked out of several jams in his four innings. The projected third starter in the Rangers' rotation allowed seven baserunners but only yielded two runs, both coming on solo home runs by Jose Cruz Jr. and Adrian Gonzalez. Padres shortstop Khalil Greene later hit his third homer of the spring.
"I did a good job getting out of situations," McCarthy said. "It was not my best outing but I showed some mental toughness."
Peavy felt the same about his start.
The 25-year-old said he was unhappy with a second-inning walk to Brad Wilkerson. He yielded his only run when Ian Kinsler homered on an outside fastball in the fourth.
"The walk upset me," Peavy said. "I tried to bear down and not repeat it. Today I just wanted to get some work in and not throw out of the stretch."
Trevor Hoffman's third outing, his first in six days, didn't last long. He gave up three runs and four hits while recording two outs for San Diego.
The career saves leader had a fly ball misplayed into a double, hung a changeup for another double and allowed three of the next five hitters to reach before he was pulled.
Hoffman's spring ERA is 16.85. But Hoffman's early struggles aren't registering any concerns with Padres manager Bud Black.
"None," Black said. "Absolutely none."