Smith piled up 478 saves from 1980-1997. The Padres invited Smith to be in San Diego this weekend, but he had prior commitments.

Manager Bruce Bochy said he reflected back on all the times Hoffman has closed games.

“It was emotional for me,” Bochy said. “He’s such a special guy, great teammate. We all know about his talent, but as a person, they just don’t get any better.”

Hoffman’s first two career saves came as a rookie with Florida before the Padres obtained him on June 24, 1993, in what was then a hugely unpopular deal at the height of San Diego’s salary-shedding “fire sale.” The Padres gave up slugger Gary Sheffield, who won the NL batting title with San Diego the previous season.

And to think that Hoffman was booed in his first few appearances in a Padres uniform.

“I knew it was something I couldn’t change in a day,” he said.

Tracy echoed Bochy’s feelings.

“It’s a credit to him because he’s one of the finest people in the game,” said Tracy, who managed the rival Dodgers the previous five seasons. “It’s a tribute to his resiliency. It’s a tribute to his work ethic. It’s a tribute to his moxie because a not a lot of people can do what he does.”

Clay Hensley, backed by impressive home runs from Russell Branyan and Josh Bard, struck out a career-high nine in winning his third straight start for San Diego, which retained its 1½-game lead over the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers. Hensley (11-11) held the Pirates to one run and seven hits.

The Padres have won nine of 12 overall and 14 of their last 16 home games.

Bard put the Padres ahead 2-1 when he greeted reliever Juan Perez (0-1) by homering into the first row of the second deck in left field on a 1-0 pitch leading off the sixth. It was Bard’s career-high ninth.

Pittsburgh went ahead 1-0 in the first on Doumit’s two-out single.

Pittsburgh’s Marty McLeary, making his first big league start at the age of 32, allowed one run and four hits in five innings.

Notes: McLeary made three appearances with the Padres in 2004, with no decisions and a 14.73 ERA in 3 2-3 innings. ... Branyan left after he was hit on a hand by a pitch from Juan Perez on the first pitch after Bard’s homer in the sixth.

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