ATLANTA -- Brandon Phillips, who grew up outside Atlanta rooting for the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field, didn't have to wait long for his first home run at his new team's new home.

Phillips, acquired from Cincinnati before spring training, led off the sixth inning with a tiebreaking homer and Adonis Garcia followed with a blast of his own as the Braves improved to 2-0 at SunTrust Park with a 4-2 victory over the San Diego Padres on Saturday night.

Phillips had bounced out to Padres starter Clayton Richard his first two times up as the left-hander got ground ball after ground ball the first five innings.

"I was very mad about those two at-bats," Phillips said. "I went up there and said, 'You know what, I'm going to try to hit this ball as far as I can' and the next thing you know I did. It was just a fastball in and I just turned on it and it felt good."

"I was a good pitch," Padres catcher Austin Hedges said. "You tip your cap to Phillips there. It was a pitch where nine out of 10 times you get another ground ball."

Veteran knuckleballer R.A. Dickey pitched into seventh inning and got his first victory in his third start since signing with the Braves as a free agent during the winter.

Dickey (1-1) gave up consecutive homers to Hunter Renfroe and Hedges in the second inning, but the Braves (4-6) tied it in the third and took the lead in the sixth against the Padres (5-7) on their first back-to-back homers of the year.

It was the first home run of the season for both Phillips and Garcia, with Phillips connecting to left-center field on a 1-0 pitch from Richard (1-2) and Garcia sending a 3-1 offering to right center to the delight of a second straight sellout of 41,149 at the new ballpark.

Dickey allowed seven hits, two to start the seventh before he was pulled, walked one and struck out six.

"I threw one curveball and it got put over the fence, so I put it in my back pocket after that," Dickey said. "I was about 90 percent knuckleballs. It was really moving, especially in innings five and six.

"It was very encouraging because it was certainly something I can work off of. ... I've just got to stay away from hard contact and keep committing to the process."

Reliever Jose Ramirez got out of seventh thanks to a double play niftily turned by Phillips at second base and Jim Johnson pitched a perfect ninth for his third save in as many games.

Richard (1-2) gave up nine hits and four runs in six innings. He walked two and struck out two while dropping to 0-6 for his career against the Braves.

"He got a ton of ground balls," Padres manager Andy Green said. "Even the hits were mostly on the ground until the home runs. He pulled the ball down and in to Phillips and that is a strength to him."

The homers by Renfroe and Hedges in the second inning were the first time the Padres went back-to-back this season and came after Dickey retired the first four batters.

"We wanted to take aggressive swings and not just try to meet the ball," said Green, noting that most of his players had never previously hit against a knuckleball pitcher.

Renfroe deposited a 1-0 knuckler over the fence in left-center field for his third home run and Hedges hit his first of the season to left field on a 1-2 curveball.

The Braves tied it in the third with four hits. Dansby Swanson and Nick Markakis delivered RBI singles.

The Braves have won three straight after a 1-6 start.

"I could see a lot of people were worried about us, but we weren't worried," Phillips said. "Right now, we're having fun. ... We have a lot of veterans and we have a lot of young guys on this team also. We have to learn each other and we're coming together."

"I think the big thing was just getting at home, getting in this park," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "Guys are getting settled in to the surroundings. ... It was probably just a big sigh of relief getting off the road. We've been on the road it felt like for six weeks."

NOTES: Braves Gold Glove CF Ender Inciarte made a diving catch to rob Padres RF Hunter Renfroe of a hit in the fourth inning. ... RHP Trevor Cahill (0-1, 3.18 ERA) will come off the 10-day disabled list and pitch for the Padres against the Braves on Sunday. He went on the DL with back tightness after making his first start for the Padres. ... RHP Bartolo Colon (0-1, 6.30 ERA) will start for the Braves, with SunTrust Park becoming the 45th major league ballpark where he has pitched. ... With his start Saturday against the Padres, RHP R.A. Dickey pitched in his third Atlanta ballpark. He was a member of Team USA in the 1996 Summer Olympics at Fulton County Stadium before pitching in the majors at Turner Field.