SAN DIEGO (AP) -- After combining with Atlanta to score 52 runs in a weekend series, the San Diego Padres got a result everyone on their side could appreciate, even if it got a bit hairy at the end.

Ruben Rivera's single with one out in the eighth inning broke a scoreless tie and Matt Clement threw eight strong innings to snap a personal three-game losing streak as the Padres beat New York 1-0 Monday night. The Mets had their four-game winning streak end.

	Eric Owens scores the game's only run in the eighth as Mets catcher Mike Piazza gathers in the late throw.

"A 1-0 game is just fun to watch," said manager Bruce Bochy, whose team won despite getting a season-low five hits.

It was easier to digest once Trevor Hoffman escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to save the victory for Clement (5-3), who became the first Padres pitcher to reach five wins this season.

"It's a good win for us, especially with us struggling with one-run games, it seems like," Clement said.

The Mets loaded the bases with one out in the ninth. But Hoffman got his eighth save by getting Jay Payton to pop up on a 3-1 pitch and pinch-hitter Mark Johnson to fly out to end it.

"The heart rate's up there, but it's up there every time you're in a save situation," Hoffman said.

After the bullpen was taxed in the weekend series at Atlanta, in which the Padres lost two of three, Clement did "an unbelievable job," Hoffman said. "I can't reiterate how happy they probably were to see him go. He was dominant tonight."

Eric Owens hit a one-out single off John Franco (1-1) in the eighth and, after several pickoff attempts, stole second. Rivera singled to left and Owens slid home headfirst ahead of the throw from Joe McEwing.

Owens "had a big lead, an awfully big lead," Franco said. "A guy with speed like that, you have to do everything you can."

"I was looking to steal," said Owens, who ran himself out of a run in the first when he was caught stealing just ahead of Rivera's triple. "I knew I needed to get into scoring position because it seemed like there weren't going to be a lot of runs scored. I don't care if I get thrown out three times in a row, I'm still looking to steal and be aggressive."

Clement held the Mets scoreless on three hits and matched his career-best by going eight innings. He struck out six and walking one.

Mets starter Glendon Rusch threw seven scoreless innings, struck out four and walked two.

"I don't like to lose at all," Rusch said. "I'm happy with the way I threw the ball, but at the same time, it's frustrating."

Baserunning blunders cost the Padres two runs in the first inning. Owens reached on a strikeout-wild pitch but was picked off with Rivera at bat.

Rivera then tripled into the right-center field gap. Rivera was too far off the bag when Tony Gwynn hit a broken-bat grounder to Ventura, and the third baseman tagged Rivera for the second out. Phil Nevin singled and Ed Sprague ended the inning with a fly out.

The Mets lost the chance to take the lead when Ventura was thrown out trying to score on Clement's wild pitch in the fourth. Clement's pitch sailed over catcher Carlos Hernandez, who snared the ball after it rebounded off the seats directly behind home and threw it to Clement, who tagged Ventura for the third out.

Game notes
Rivera went 2-for-4 and has hit safely in five straight games at a .474 clip (9-for-19). Rivera's career-best is a six-game hitting streak, which ended last Tuesday. ... The Padres' last 1-0 win was June 1 at Chicago. ... Mets OF Melvin Mora began a rehabilitation assignment Monday night with Triple-A Norfolk. Placed on the DL with a cut on his right index finger on May 13, he's eligible to be activated Sunday. ... Padres RHP Carlton Loewer pitched a three-inning simulated game of about 60 pitches and likely will begin a rehab assignment Friday. Loewer began the season on the DL with a broken left ankle suffered when he fell out of a deer blind while hunting in January. ... Nevin was named NL Player of the Week after hitting .667 (14-for-21) with three doubles, a triple and four homers, including his first career grand slam. He drove in 14 runs and scored seven runs. ... Gwynn was back in the lineup after sitting out two games due to his troublesome left knee.