PHOENIX -- Padres outfielder Xavier Nady knew he might be called on to help fill the void left by Sunday's injury to first baseman Phil Nevin. But Nady didn't think he would be called on as early as a Tuesday morning encounter with manager Bruce Bochy.

"He showed up today and said, 'You want to play first?' " Nady said. "I said, 'Sure.' "

After a morning crash course with former slick-fielding first baseman Wally Joyner at the Padres' complex, Nady took the field at that position for Tuesday afternoon's game against Oakland. It marked his first time at first since he played for Single-A Lake Elsinore in 2001.

He displayed the expected rust, botching a ground ball to his backhand side in the first inning of a 16-10 loss to the Athletics.

"He looked all right for his first day," Bochy said. "He had some cobwebs. He was a little aggressive on that one ball, but you'd rather have it that way."

With Nevin's strained left shoulder in a sling and the slugger expected to miss about a month, Nady is one of a group of players who will man first base in his absence. That one full season with the Storm was his only time at the position in his baseball career, but he made the transition well as evidenced by being named the California League's best defensive first baseman.

"It's a position where you can make people better," Nady said. "I took a lot of pride in that."

Nady, who played 98 games in right field for the Padres last year, doesn't know how long the current experiment will last. But he figures it can't hurt.

"I guess it's better to get accustomed to a few different positions," he said. "I think it will help in the long run if someone needs a day off or something."

Payton injured

The Padres got more bad news on the injury front Tuesday as center fielder Jay Payton strained his right hamstring while shagging fly balls in a morning workout. He's expected to be sidelined for seven to 10 days.

Payton has had problems with the same hamstring before. In 2001 with the New York Mets he severely tore the muscle and was on the disabled list for almost seven weeks.

With fleet prospect Freddy Guzman also injured -- he flew back to San Diego on Tuesday for an MRI on his strained elbow -- the Padres are running low on center fielders. Brian Hunter played all nine innings of Tuesday's game, and Eugene Kingsale, Terrence Long and Brian Giles could also get work there.

Get down

The Padres wanted to give Adam Eaton some extra work in his second spring start and planned to let him pitch three innings. Oakland changed the plan, roughing Eaton up for nine runs (four earned) on seven hits in just two-thirds of an inning before he was pulled.

"Adam is just up (in the strike zone)," Bochy said. "Until he gets it down, he's probably going to get that. Believe it or not -- it's hard to say this after nine runs -- but we feel good about his stuff."

Bochy said pitching coach Darren Balsley will make a slight adjustment to Eaton's delivery, lengthening his stride a bit to help him keep the ball lower in the zone.

"His arm feels great. He feels great," Bochy said. "He knows it's part of spring training. That's why we have it."

Short hops

Oakland CF Mark Kotsay fared well in his first game against the Padres since he was traded to the A's in November. He went 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs. Even better was SS Bobby Crosby, the replacement for departed free agent Miguel Tejada. Crosby ripped a two-run homer and a grand slam in the first inning alone. … The same teams will play again today in Peoria, with LHP Sterling Hitchcock getting the start for the Padres.

Ballpark tour

FENWAY PARK

Team: Boston Red Sox

Opened: 1912

Cost: $650,000

Capacity: 34,898

Dimensions: LF 310 feet, LC 379, CF 390, RC 380, RF 302

Fast facts: The majors' oldest park is a baseball chapel for the purists and the Puritans who have flocked there summer after summer for 92 seasons, the past 85 without a World Series title. Baseball's oldest ballpark is also its smallest, which has resulted in Red Sox fans paying the highest ticket prices in the game. Fenway's dominant feature is The Green Monster, a 37-foot wall that compensates for the short dimensions to left field. The Monster was not green until 1947, when advertisements were painted over. The wall has been wood and tin; the current hard plastic was installed in 1976. Former Padres executive Larry Lucchino had seats installed above the wall last year as he seeks to squeeze a few more dollars out of the old place. The tiny foul territory and reachable outfield fences made Fenway the premier hitter's park before Coors Field came along.

Did you know?: Fenway hosted the 1914 World Series without the Red Sox. The Boston Braves used the park because Braves Stadium was still under construction.

Sources: Boston Red Sox media guide, ballparks.com