Wells runs dry for Pads as D-Backs blast NL West leader

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Some lucky fan ended up with David Wells' glove and the San Diego Padres held onto their slim lead in the NL West.

Other than that, it wasn't a great night for the Padres.

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Edgar Gonzalez held San Diego to six hits in seven innings while his teammates knocked around Wells, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to an 8-2 win Wednesday night.

The Padres remained a half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost 6-4 to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Wells (0-2) gave up four runs and a season-high 11 hits in 6 1/3 innings, losing his second consecutive start. The Padres lost for the third straight time with the big lefty on the mound. He was obtained from Boston on Aug. 31 to try to help the Padres reach the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in club history.

With San Diego trailing 3-1, manager Bruce Bochy pulled Wells after Luis Gonzalez beat out an infield single with one out in the seventh. As Wells walked off the field, he tossed his glove high into the air and into the seats behind the Padres' dugout.

Wells was frustrated by giving up 10 singles.

"I told Boch I felt good but he already made the call," Wells said. "I'm a very intense player. I'm not one for showing anybody up. I respect Boch big-time. To me, it's just the way the whole game transpired, just having to go out there and battle and then getting beaten up by singles. It doesn't sit well with me.

"I just take it for what it is," Wells said. "Somebody got a nice souvenir tonight and I've been known to do it many times in my career. I'm over it. The night's over with, so I'm not going to go home and beat myself up."

Wells struck out five and walked one.

"He had some bad luck, I thought," Bochy said. "He kept us in the game. He gave us a chance to win, really. We didn't do a very good job with our situational hitting there. We had trouble getting guys in or getting guys over, and that came back to haunt us."

Fourth-place Arizona tied its season high with 18 hits. Luis Gonzalez, Conor Jackson, Johnny Estrada and Alberto Callaspo had three hits apiece, and Callaspo's bases-loaded triple highlighted the five-run seventh.

Edgar Gonzalez (2-3) got his first win as a starter since his big league debut on June 1, 2003, when he beat Jake Peavy and the Padres 10-4 in San Diego. It was Edgar Gonzalez's fourth start this season and the 17th of his major league career. He was promoted for the second time this season on Sept. 6. He allowed one run, struck out three and walked none.

"This is the best I've felt pitching in the major leagues," Gonzalez said. "I felt like I threw the ball good and made all the pitches."

Said manager Bob Melvin: "I definitely saw a different look in his eye. He's a much more confident guy out there."

With Jon Adkins pitching, Eric Byrnes reached on third baseman Russell Branyan's throwing error, and Jackson singled in Luis Gonzalez. Estrada singled to load the bases, and Adkins walked Damion Easley to make it 5-1. Scott Cassidy relieved and allowed Callaspo's triple to right-center.

Arizona's big hit off Wells was Byrnes' two-run single with two outs in the third that gave the Diamondbacks a 3-1 lead. Orlando Hudson and Luis Gonzalez singled with two outs and scored when Byrnes' slicing liner into the gap landed beyond the reach of diving center fielder Mike Cameron.

The Diamondbacks loaded the bases on three straight one-out singles in the sixth before Wells struck out Luis Gonzalez and Chris Young.

San Diego's Josh Bard homered into the home-run porch down the right-field line with one out in the second, his eighth, to tie the game at 1. Byrnes scored on Estrada's groundout in the second.

San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez hit an RBI single in the eighth.

Game notes
Ryan Klesko was activated from the DL for what will most likely be his final games with the Padres. The 1B-LF, who's making $10 million this year, underwent surgery on his left shoulder in April and hadn't played this season. He walked on four pitches as a pinch-hitter in the ninth. ... Robby Hammock, who caught Randy Johnson's perfect game for Arizona on May 18, 2004, and OF Scott Hairston were promoted by the Diamondbacks from Triple-A Tucson.