The Padres got that Wednesday, when closer Trevor Hoffman got himself into a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the ninth inning of a scoreless game, but got himself out of it by striking out the side.

But the night went to 25-year-old Paul McAnulty -- called up from Triple-A Portland on Tuesday -- whose first Major League home run was just the type any player dreams of hitting: a walk-off homer in extra innings in the middle of a playoff race. The shot just over the wall in straightaway center in the bottom of the 11th gave the Padres a 2-0 win and their second walk-off homer of the series, allowing them to sweep the Rockies.

"It's unbelievable. To have my parents here, my dad, my mom, they've been following me throughout my whole career," said McAnulty, whose parents were among the 27,968 at PETCO Park, making the trip from Oxnard, Calif. "They've been behind me, supporting me. For them to be here to see it, it's some day I'll never forget."

The Padres had just three runners get past first base before Todd Walker belted a double just inside the right-field line to lead off the 11th. In his 31st Major League at-bat, McAnulty needed two pitches off reliever Nate Field to get that first big-league home run.

While McAnulty's bat got the Padres the win, Clay Hensley and the Friars' bullpen kept them in it. Surprisingly, the pitcher who struggled most was Hoffman.

In a non-save situation in the ninth, he allowed a single and a double to lead off the inning before striking out Troy Tulowitzki swinging. With Brad Hawpe and Matt Holliday on second and third, Hoffman intentionally walked Cory Sullivan to load the bases.

He battled for eight pitches with Chris Iannetta, who was called out on a strike just catching the inside corner of the plate. Hoffman then struck out pinch-hitter Yorvit Torrealba swinging on five pitches.

Rockies manager Clint Hurdle has faced Hoffman enough to know the closer can get out of just about any jam.

"He's done that quite a few times. You see that banner he's got up on the warehouse over there?" Hurdle asked, referring to the banner keeping count of Hoffman's career saves on the top balcony of the Western Metal Supply Co. building, now at 473. "You've got to be pretty good to get a banner to hang from the warehouse."

On an evening where the pitching standards were set with a no-hitter by the Marlins' Anibal Sanchez against the D-Backs, the Padres-Rockies starters were not too far behind.

Hensley and Colorado's Jason Jennings each went seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits.

The 28-year-old Jennings feels quite comfortable at PETCO Park, going 2-0 this season with a 1.80 ERA coming into Wednesday's start, his third of the season in San Diego.

Hensley has allowed just one earned run in his last two starts against the Rockies, covering 14 innings. The right-hander faced the Rockies in Denver on Aug. 26, giving up just one run in seven innings.

Hensley allowed just one runner past second base before he gave up two consecutive singles to Garrett Atkins and Holliday to lead off the fourth inning. Hawpe then flied out to left field, and Hensley got Tulowitzki to ground into a 5-4-3 double play.

Scott Linebrink got through the eighth, Hoffman the ninth and Alan Embree pitched a 1/3 of an inning in the 10th, before the Padres handed the game over to rookie reliever Cla Meredith, who did what he always does: get outs.

Meredith's 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief not only earned him his fifth win of the season, it extended his scoreless-innings streak to 29, a new franchise relief record. Should he continue the streak for one more inning, he would tie the Padres' overall record, currently held by Randy Jones.

"To win a game like that, you have to put up zeros, and our staff kept doing it," manager Bruce Bochy said. As for Meredith, "The kid's been incredible," Bochy said. "He just keeps getting it done. He's been a savior for us."

So it seems with many of the young players on Bochy's 2006 team. They may have less experience, but they perform under pressure.

"You look at our season, what our young guys have done, they've had tremendous seasons," Bochy said. "These kids are carrying us at times."

On Wednesday, it was McAnulty's turn.