Padres pin hopes on 'Boomer' for Game 2

~ Wells will start today opposite St. Louis' Weaver.

SAN DIEGO -- This is the kind of game that has "Boomer" written all over it.

At least the San Diego Padres hope it does.

Down one game to the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series, the Padres will turn to 43-year-old San Diego native David Wells to start Game 2 this afternoon against Jeff Weaver.

The Padres acquired Wells on Aug. 31 from Boston because of his reputation as a big-game pitcher, especially in October. At the moment, there's no bigger game than the one in front of the Padres, who don't want the Cards to take a 2-0 lead back home for Game 3 on Saturday.

"I couldn't be happier," said Wells, who plans to retire when the season ends.

"It's nice to represent your hometown and be a part of something big," the left-hander added. "This couldn't be a better time for me. It's my last year, and going out on top would be a nice way to go, especially in your hometown."

Although Wells went 0-2 in his first four starts with San Diego, he was sensational in his final regular-season start, pitching six scoreless innings Saturday at Arizona as the Padres won 3-1 to clinch a postseason berth. He didn't even allow an Arizona baserunner to reach second base.

The Cardinals won 5-1 in the series opener Tuesday, propelled by Albert Pujols' two-run homer against ace Jake Peavy. This is the third time the Padres are facing the Cardinals in a division series since 1996, and St. Louis has won all seven games.

"The boys are going to come out on Thursday and I promise you, expecting to win," Peavy said after the loss. "And we've got the big boy on the mound who has been there and done it before. Hopefully he'll give us a lift."

Wells has been successful in October throughout his career, reaching the postseason 11 times with six different teams. He has a career postseason record of 10-4 with a 3.15 ERA.

He won World Series rings with Toronto in 1992 and the Yankees in 1998, when he beat San Diego in Game 1 of New York's sweep. He was with the Yankees when they lost the 2003 World Series to Florida.

"I've just been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time," Wells said. "I've been fortunate to have good players, good teams behind me. It's what we play for all year and personally I love it. I think it's the greatest time of the year."

Wells, who pitched for the Padres in 2004 before signing as a free agent with Boston, looks forward to facing Pujols.

"I've never been a guy to shy away from anybody," Wells said. "I love challenging. I mean, Albert's a great hitter. He's very respectable and he can be a one-man show at times. But to me, that's where I get recognition too, is by getting guys like him out."

Then again, if the Cardinals get a runner on ahead of Pujols, Wells may have no other choice than to walk the slugger.

Cardinals leadoff hitter David Eckstein faced Wells enough in the American League to know to be ready for the lefty's cutter and big curveball.

"We've got to get him out of his game because he's also a proven guy," Eckstein said. "We've got to try to be as relentless as possible with very tough at-bats, just to try to not make it too easy for him. If he's on, man, he's tough to hit. You try to make him throw a lot of pitches and make him work very hard."

Weaver became a reclamation project for the Cardinals after Sidney Ponson was released just before the All-Star break. The right-handed Weaver landed with the Cardinals on July 5 after going 3-10 with a 6.29 ERA and being cast aside by the Angels to make way in the rotation for his younger brother, Jered.

Weaver got this start because he's pitched better on the road than at home.

"It's just the way it works out sometimes," Weaver said.

After a rough start with the Cardinals, he went 3-0 in his last five starts, and manager Tony La Russa had the confidence in him to give him this start.

"It's continued motivation, especially when you start off as rough as I did," Weaver said.

That said, the Cardinals are relying on Weaver and Game 3 starter Jeff Suppan to come up big, just as ace Chris Carpenter did on Tuesday.

"The reality is, we need to win games when somebody besides Chris is starting the game," La Russa said. "That's the challenge for our club and for Jeff and Jeff."

Noteworthy

* With Wells pitching, La Russa said Preston Wilson, a right-handed hitter, will start in left field instead of lefty Chris Duncan. Center fielder Jim Edmonds, another lefty batter, will play Thursday against Wells but won't bat cleanup like he did Tuesday, when he went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

* Lee Smith, who spent part of his career with St. Louis, is scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Padres closer Trevor Hoffman, who passed Smith on Sept. 24 to become baseball's all-time saves leader.