San Diego – For the man they call Boomer, Thursday’s possible swan song was a big dud.
Padres portly left-hander David Wells, one of baseball’s most colorful characters, started Game 2 with high hopes of squaring up the National League divisional series with the Cardinals. Instead, the 43-year-old took the loss in what could have been the final game of his 19-year career.
“Hopefully we can rebound from this and come back and I’d get another opportunity to pitch,” he said. “I’d like to ride off into the sunset with a smile, not with a grin and saying, ‘What if?”‘
Wells, pitching in his hometown, wasn’t bad – giving up two runs on seven hits in five innings – just not good enough.
“I thought David threw all right, he gave us a chance to win,” Padres manager Bruce Bochy said.
St. Louis manager Tony LaRussa tipped his cap to Wells.
“I remember when he was young and crazy in Toronto,” LaRussa said. “He was a little bit wild and woolly, but he was a better pitcher than what people thought. That postseason record is no accident. He’s got a lot of cool.”
Wells is 10-5 with a 3.17 ERA in postseason play.
Rally time
The Padres head into Saturday’s Game 3 in St. Louis down 0-2 and carrying a team batting average of .164. But center fielder Mike Cameron – hitting just .143 – was in a defiant mood after Thursday’s game. He said the Padres will be ready to take on Cardinals starter Jeff Suppan.
“They are going to come with Suppan and try to jam it down our throats,” he said. “They probably think we are down and everything. But it’s time for this team to battle. That’s what it’s all about. It’s a battle now.”
Footnotes
Before Thursday, St. Louis had not shut out a postseason opponent since the 1987 National League Championship Series when it blanked San Francisco in Games 6 and 7. … Padres closer Trevor Hoffman, who has yet to pitch in the series, was presented with a Gibson guitar signed by AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young. AC/DC’s song “Hell’s Bells” is Hoffman’s signature song when he takes the mound at Petco Park.
