OAKLAND, Calif. -- The San Diego Padres finally had reason to celebrate Thursday, ending a nightmarish four-game losing streak and getting interim manager Pat Murphy his first major league victory.

Matt Kemp and Derek Norris hit solo home runs, and Ian Kennedy threw six strong innings, leading the Padres to a 3-1 victory against the Oakland A's at the O.co Coliseum.

After the game, Murphy's players gave him a celebratory shower of cold beer, baby powder and shaving cream in the clubhouse.

"It resonated with me when they brought me in the shower and dumped whatever they dumped on me," a smiling Murphy said of his first victory. "I thought I was having a heart attack. I'm not joking. The thought went through my head, 'Isn't this beautiful? You get your first major league win and you have a heart attack in the shower during the celebration.' That's truly what I was thinking."

Murphy was also thinking about how big the win was for a team that has been through so much. Manager Bud Black was fired Monday, and bench coach Dave Roberts filled in for him that night in a 9-1 loss to the A's. Murphy was named interim coach Tuesday and lost two straight to Oakland, including a 16-2 bashing Wednesday night when the A's had a season-high 20 hits and set another high for runs.

Kemp said it was huge "to break the ice for everybody" with a victory.

"We needed to win this game right here," Kemp said. "We've played pretty good baseball here and there, but last night was pretty tough. We needed to come back today and get a win."

The Padres (33-36) snapped Oakland's four-game winning streak.

Kennedy (4-5) held the A's to one run on four hits over six innings, striking out four and walking one. The right-hander made his fourth consecutive solid start, going 2-0 over that stretch and allowing just seven earned runs.

Kennedy, who pitched for the University of Southern California, faced Murphy's Arizona State teams numerous times during his college career. He said he was glad to be the guy pitching when Murphy got his first big league win.

"Partly wanted to pitch well for him and partially for the team, too," Kennedy said. "Lost the last four games, and we needed that one."

A's right-hander Kendall Graveman (3-4) had his sixth straight strong start since being recalled from Triple-A Nashville. He gave up two runs on five hits, including solo home runs by Kemp and Norris, over seven innings.

Graveman, who held the Padres hitless for 3 2/3 innings, struck out six and walked one. He went 1-2 with an 8.27 ERA in his first four starts this season before being sent down.

"When you get up and experience some failure, you actually have to understand what you are doing wrong," Graveman said. "Changing speeds was one thing I worked on. The changeup has been better. The breaking ball has been better to slow the pace down a little bit."

Catcher Josh Phegley hit a solo home run in the sixth inning for the A's (29-40).

Padres relievers Shawn Kelley, Brandon Maurer and Craig Kimbrel blanked Oakland over the final three innings. Kimbrel pitched a scoreless ninth for his 17th save.

"I'm happy for the Padres," Murphy said. "It's a little silly to make it about me today. It's the middle of the season, and we've got to start playing consistent. ... Hats off to Kennedy. Hats off to the Oakland A's. They're playing great. Kennedy stuffed them today after them having so much momentum. It means a lot."

Kemp gave the Padres a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, homering with two outs. The designated hitter launched Graveman's 2-2 slider into the left field seats, ending Graveman's no-hit bid. The home run was Kemp's fourth of the season and second against the A's in the past three games.

Norris, who made his first career start at first base, increased San Diego's lead to 2-0 with a leadoff home run in the top of the sixth inning against his former team. He ripped Graveman's 1-1 cutter down the left field line for his eighth homer of the season.

Phegley cut San Diego's lead to 2-1 with a leadoff home run to left off Kennedy, his third blast of the season. Kennedy was ahead 1-2 in the count after throwing three straight sliders, but Phegley hammered his inside fastball over the fence.

"I just reacted on the pitch," Phegley said. "It was a fastball in. I was trying to lay off that slider he threw me a few times. I just knew I had to stay on him because of that slider, but he threw me a fastball in, so I just tried to react as fast as I could and I caught it out front."

The Padres answered with a run in the eighth. Melvin Upton Jr. led off with a triple to right-center as center fielder Billy Burns and right fielder Josh Reddick collided near the wall. Reddick got the worst of the collision and remained on the ground for a few minutes after getting hit in the head and below the belt. Reddick, however, stayed in the game.

With one out, left fielder Justin Upton brought his older brother home with a sacrifice fly. Vogt made a running catch of his popup down the right field line in foul territory, but Melvin Upton tagged up and easily beat the throw home.

NOTES: Padres C Derek Norris made his first career start at first base, and Yonder Alonso started at third base for the second time this season. Norris made one previous major league appearance at first base, playing one inning for the A's in 2013. ... Oakland 1B Ike Davis (strained left quadriceps) played his fifth rehab game Wednesday for Triple-A Nashville, and manager Bob Melvin said, "We'll probably look to activate him shortly." ... A's INF/OF Ben Zobrist was out of the lineup after starting nine straight games. Zobrist underwent left knee surgery on April 28, and Melvin said it was time to give him a break, even though he was 8-for-14 with 10 runs in his previous four games. He pinch-hit in the eighth and played left field in the ninth. ... Padres SS Alexi Amarista on Wednesday became the fifth major league position player since 1974 to hit a home run in a game before making an appearance as a pitcher.