 On May 6, 2005, Hoffman saved a 6 – 5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals as the Padres won two straight in St. Louis for the first time since 1977. It was Hoffman's 400th save, and he became the third pitcher in MLB history to reach the milestone, following John Franco (424) and Lee Smith (478). Hoffman was named both the NL Pitcher of the Month and Delivery Man of the Month in May after a perfect 12 for 12 in save opportunities while posting a 0.82 ERA (1 ER / 11.0 IP) in 12 games as the Padres went 22 – 6 for their best month in franchise history. On August 24, Hoffman converted his 29th consecutive save opportunity in a 7 – 4 win over the Houston Astros. He passed Franco for second place on the all-time saves list with his 425th save, and the Padres maintained a six-game lead in the NL West with a 63 – 63 record. The Padres won the NL West with an 82 – 80 record, and Hoffman finished the season 43 for 46 in save opportunities, the second most saves in the NL. The Padres were swept 3 – 0 in the playoffs by the Cardinals, who had a majors-best 100 – 62 record in the regular season. Hoffman did not get into any save situations as the Padres never led through any of the 27 innings in the series.
