Hoffman notches 476th save, Padres retake NL West lead

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The world didn't end after all for the San Diego Padres, who just like that found themselves back in first place in the NL West.

All-time MLB saves leaders
Player	Saves
Lee Smith	478
Trevor Hoffman	476
John Franco	424
Mariano Rivera	412
Dennis Eckersley	390

Trevor Hoffman earned his 476th career save, Mike Cameron hit a three-run homer and the San Diego Padres rebounded from their crazy loss the night before in Los Angeles to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-2 Tuesday night.

Adrian Gonzalez also connected for the Padres, who moved a half-game ahead of the Dodgers in the division. They also stayed 1½ games ahead of Philadelphia for a playoff spot. The Phillies are one game back of Los Angeles in the wild-card race.

On Monday night, the Padres led 9-5 in the ninth at Dodger Stadium before Los Angeles tied a major league record with four consecutive homers -- the last two off Hoffman for a blown save -- to tie it. Nomar Garciaparra hit a two-run shot in the 10th for an 11-10 Dodgers win.

Hoffman bounced back by throwing a perfect ninth to pull within three of breaking Lee Smith's saves record of 478. Hoffman, who earned his NL-leading 40th save in 45 chances, received a standing ovation from the crowd of 29,067 as he jogged to the mound and again after the third out.

Hoffman said it's hard for him to forget about a game like Monday night's.

"You don't. You're human. Stuff's going to sit and fester. Really, you've got two options -- you can go home or you can come back the next day. We came back as a group. That's the important thing.

"I think more than anything it was a bigger win for them than a crushing blow for us," Hoffman said about Monday night's loss.

And Tuesday night's win?

"It's all going to be forgotten in about an hour, and the biggest game of the year, again, will be tomorrow," Hoffman said.

The biggest difference from the night before, Hoffman said, was that "the first batter got a first-pitch popup as opposed to a first-pitch home run. It was nice."

Clay Hensley (10-11) pitched in and out of jams to win his second straight start, holding the Diamondbacks to two runs and seven hits in six innings.

"If it takes us three games to get over what happened in L.A., then we'd be in trouble," Hensley said. "It goes down the drain with the shower, and you move on to the next day."

The Diamondbacks figured as much.

"I didn't expect them to have any hangover from last night," Conor Jackson said. "Every game for them right now is crucial. They're going to play their best. They're in a race."

San Diego took a 4-0 lead in the first and, unlike Monday night, made it stand.

Livan Hernandez (12-13) looked lethargic in allowing the Padres' two homers and walking five.

Hernandez allowed Dave Roberts' leadoff single in the first, then with one out walked Todd Walker and Mike Piazza on four pitches each. Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly before Cameron drove the first pitch he saw from Hernandez over the center-field fence, his 21st, to make it 4-0.

"I missed one pitch to Cameron and that was the ballgame," Hernandez said. "I tried to throw a sinker outside and the ball was moving too much. It was difficult to control."

Cameron said it was easy to forget about Monday night.

"We talked about it enough last night," he said. "We witnessed it firsthand. There wasn't really much to talk about, especially when we had to get ready to play today. We played a good game yesterday. We just got beat."

Gonzalez homered to right with two outs in the fifth, his 23rd.

Hensley allowed four straight hits opening the fourth, including Luis Gonzalez's leadoff double and Chad Tracy's RBI single. After Jackson singled to load the bases, Hensley struck out Carlos Quentin and got Chris Snyder to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Snyder hit an RBI double with two outs in the sixth.

Hensley struck out three and walked three. Hernandez allowed five runs and five hits in five innings.

Game notes
Hoffman extended his major league record with his eighth 40-save season. ... Manager Bruce Bochy expects that RHP Chan Ho Park will be activated when the Padres begin their final road trip next Monday. Park, who had surgery on Aug. 23 to stop intestinal bleeding, will pitch out of the bullpen. ... Hernandez struck out five.