Padres Rally in the Ninth to Beat Cards : Baseball: Myers shuts the door with three strikeouts in 2-1 victory. Sheffield, McGriff deliver clutch RBIs.

The Padre clubhouse had emptied. The players, exhilarated by yet another dramatic comeback victory, 2-1 over the St. Louis Cardinals, went off into the night Friday to celebrate.

Strangely, however, the door to Padre Manager Greg Riddoch’s office remained closed. The entire coaching staff was huddled inside. The computer was out, charts were strewn on the floor, and there in the middle of the room was reliever Randy Myers.

Myers stayed behind, called a meeting of the coaches to order and discussed revamping the way the Padres position their defense.

Really.

Myers had his finest outing as a Padre, striking out the side in the ninth inning to earn his 13th save, and he chose to celebrate by telling the coaching staff how to do its job.

“That’s Randy, can you believe him?” said Padre first baseman Fred McGriff. “I tell you, he’s a trip.”

Myers, who earlier spent the day offering suggestions to Padre President Dick Freeman on ways to increase attendance, was at it again.

“He’s the guru on everything, didn’t you know that?” Riddoch said, rolling his eyes.

Only this time, in the aftermath of the Padres’ 15th comeback victory of the season, and the third consecutive in their last at-bat, no one seemed to mind. It was a game the Padres (27-21) believe might be the turning point in Myers’ season, which in turn would be invaluable to their playoff hopes.

“What Randy did tonight was bigger than the win, much bigger,” said winning pitcher Bruce Hurst (4-4). “It’s been tough on him. It’s always tough to live up to everybody’s expectations.

“But what he did tonight brought a new attitude to this team, an attitude of what championships teams are made of.”

The Padres set the stage for Myers in the ninth inning after one of their most improbable comebacks of the season. They had been completely dominated the entire night by rookie left-hander Donovan Osborne. In fact, after McGriff’s two-out single in the first inning, Osborne retired 24 consecutive batters.

It was bad enough, the Padres said, that Osborne was shutting them down. But with one out in the ninth, Darrin Jackson hit a ball deep into the hole. Cardinal shortstop Ozzie Smith came up with the ball, but his throw to first was late.

Or was it?

Jackson was ruled out by first-base umpire Dutch Rennert. The Padres argued. TV replays showed Jackson was safe by a step. But there was no changing Rennert’s call.

“We were going nuts on the bench,” Hurst said. “We were screaming on the bench. I lost my voice. In fact, four of us lost our voice.

“I had already lost my voice when (Gary) Sheffield went deep this week, but this one sent me over the edge.”

So there the Padres were, with two outs, no one on base, and Tony Gywnn at the plate.

“I really hate making the last out of the game,” Gwynn said. “It’s a long walk back in this stadium. You got to walk all the way across the field while everybody’s high-fiving each other.

“I wasn’t going to be the last out.”

So Gwynn hit a ground-rule double into center field for his first hit of the game. Cardinal Manager Joe Torre, deciding that Osborne was tiring, summoned Lee Smith, who leads the league with 14 saves.

“I remember getting a hit off him once in the American League,” Sheffield said, “but that was a long time ago. Fred told me on the on-deck circle, ‘Just stay in there. Keep your shoulder in. Don’t take a long look at it, because it’s coming in hard.’ ”

Sheffield swung at the first pitch and drove it to right field for a single. Gwynn scored. The game was tied. And the crowd of 26,455 at Busch Stadium was booing heartily.

McGriff made the crowd turn even uglier with a double into the left-center gap. Sheffield scored for a 2-1 lead.

The only problem was that the Padres still had to protect their lead. And they were going to Myers, who had a 11.12 ERA in his previous six outings.

Riddoch, showing that he wasn’t too comfortable with the idea himself, ordered relievers Jose Melendez and Pat Clements to continue warming up before Myers even stepped to the mound.

McGriff, his own stomach muscles tightening, watched Myers finish his warm-up pitches and casually strolled to the mound. What gives? A little advice on how to pitch to the heart of the Cardinal order?

“No, I was telling him if he could pitch a 1-2-3 inning,” McGriff said, “I’d buy him dinner.”

It appeared to be a safe bet. Myers’ last 1-2-3 inning in a meaningful situation was May 9 against the Phillies. He has only had a handful of 1-2-3 innings all season.

This time, Myers struck out No. 3 hitter Todd Zeile. Struck out Felix Jose. Struck out Andres Galarraga.

Were Myers’ performances really bothering him, or has he been able to shrug them off with his macho image?

“He may have been smiling on the outside,” McGriff said, “but inside his stomach was churning. People don’t realize how tough this game is, and it was tearing him up.

“But I think tonight was the turning point.”

The Padres, who climbed into a share of first place with the San Francisco Giants, now have their best record after 48 games since 1985 when they went 28-20.

“This team has become very, very confident,” Gwynn said. “It’s almost like one of those Army Flight movies. We just keep going, going and going.

“No matter how far down we get, no matter how bad the situation looks, we’re going to come back. We’re going to be there.

“I can’t remember a feeling like this in a long, long time.”

And Myers, the man of the hour, what were his feelings?

It remains unknown. Long into the night, he still was in Riddoch’s office talking strategy, sharing his philosophy on the game of baseball.

“What a beaut,” Hurst said, shaking his head and laughing, walking into the night.