Peavy pitches in at plate for Padres

For one game, at least, Jake Peavy was a better hitter than pitcher.

The Padres’ ace drove in two runs with his first career triple and added a double in San Diego’s 11-6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Peavy’s triple, which he finished with a head-first slide, highlighted a five-run third inning and helped the Padres take a 7-0 lead.

The cushion came in handy because Peavy (3-0) went from pitching lights-out to getting pulled with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth. He struck out eight but gave up five runs, four earned, on 10 hits and two walks, and his earned-run average rose from 0.90 to 2.13.

Earlier in the day, Peavy received a text message from his friend Michael Barrett, the Chicago Cubs’ catcher. Barrett kidded Peavy for his “tired” swing when he had to pinch-hit in the Padres’ 14-inning victory Tuesday at Wrigley Field.

“I just text messaged him back, ‘Hey, I think that thing got me messed up. It got me thinking I was a hitter and I forgot how to pitch today,’ ” Peavy said.

“Hey, a win’s a win. I’ll take a win any day of the week,” he said. “Today was a good day. The boys battled.”

Khalil Greene and Rob Bowen hit solo homers for the Padres, who’ve struggled offensively this year but managed to score a season-high in runs. Bowen had three RBIs and scored three runs.