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Wells stymies Mets as Padres take the opener

Jul 17, 2007 - 6:26 AM SAN DIEGO (Ticker) -- David Wells was much more calm this time around.

Wells threw six strong innings and Michael Barrett drove in three runs as the San Diego Padres defeated the New York Mets, 5-1, in the series opener on Monday.

Pitching while appealing his seven-game suspension, Wells limited the Mets to one run and seven hits in six innings and was accepting congratulations in the dugout after his final inning.

That is big change from his last start. On July 7 against Atlanta, Wells got into a heated argument with home plate umpire Ed Hickox about the strike zone after allowing a two-run homer to Jeff Francoeur in the fourth.

The argument ended with Wells being ejected, having to be restrained, and then angrily firing a baseball against the dugout screen before leaving the field. The outburst drew a seven-game suspension and a $3,000 fine from the commissioner's office.

In this one, Wells (5-5) had no reason to throw a tantrum. The 44-year-old lefthander retired the first eight batters he faced and threw 66 of 95 pitches for strikes in notching just his second win since June 9.

"Early in the game, I think (Wells) had them out in front of pitches, and they made some adjustments as the game went on," Padres manager Bud Black said. "But, Boomer is going to use his experience knowing where he had to make a pitch, and he did. He left some guys on base, and he did it by making a critical pitch when he needed to."

Wells worked out of jams in the fourth and fifth innings, but otherwise kept the Mets off-balance getting 11 ground-ball outs.

"That's when you feel good about yourself out there," Wells said. "When you can get out of jams and make it easy on yourself. I was just trying to make the right pitch, and that's where you keep the ball down. That's my main thing to do, keep it down and you're not going to get hurt."

"It was typical David Wells," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "He was able to hit his spots and he changed speeds, which is what he does. Guys who have been around the game a long time, there is no secret to their success. He pitched a good ballgame."

Wells got some early support from Barrett, who laced a two-run single into left field in the second that scored Milton Bradley and Khalil Greene for a 2-0 lead.

Bradley sparked the rally by drawing a one-out walk from Jorge Sosa (7-4) and Greene followed with a double to left.

"I just feel good about the way this team plays," Barret said. "We've got a great team all around. Guys are coming around offensively. Overall, I like the way things are shaping up right now."

Meanwhile, Jorge Sosa pitched well in his first start since landing on the 15-day disabled list since July 1 with a strained left hamstring.

The righthander allowed two runs and five hits in six innings with five strikeouts. He also provided the Mets first hit - a double in the third.

"The balls that they hit, those pitches were up in the zone, hanging sliders," Sosa said through an interpreter. "After that, I started making my pitches. My leg is 100 percent fine. I don't have a problem."

New York got to Wells in the fourth with three straight singles that scored David Wright to cut the deficit to 2-1. But the 44-year-old veteran Wells escaped further damage by inducing a double-play ground ball from Shawn Green.

"Tonight, I had good defense behind me and I was able to get the double-play when I needed it," Wells said. "I was able to keep the ball down and let your defense take over. I'm not going to get hit a whole lot if it's down low."

New York then put runners on first and second with one out in the fifth, but Wells got Lastings Milledge and Carlos Beltran to ground out and end the threat.

That was the last threat New York had the as majors' best bullpen did the rest.

Former Met Heath Bell relieved Wells and pitched a scoreless seventh. Scott Linebrink worked the eighth and Cla Meredith closed out the ninth in a non-save situation.

Marcus Giles made the score 3-1 with an RBI single in the seventh for San Diego, which won for just the fourth time in 10 games.

Another former Mets Mike Cameron blasted his 12th homer of the season to centerfield off Aaron Heilman and Michael Barrett added an RBI single in the eighth to cap the scoring.

David Wright had three hits and Jose Reyes added a pair of hits for New York, which has scored more than three runs just four times in its last 13 contests.