Faulty starter

When it was over, and David Wells was seated before the media, a relative asylum when juxtaposed against the harsh arena in which he'd pitched, he said his four-inning, 10-hit, seven-run implosion was tucked away, behind him, one bad day in the life of a 42-year-old pitcher.

''I don't take it home," he said, and that is a good thing, because the home he headed back to last night, a townhouse within walking distance of the old ballpark, is not his. He's merely a tenant, paying rent to a landlord away on business, in Cincinnati, pitching -- and hitting home runs -- for the Reds.

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And last night, it was easy, after pitches Nos. 4, 14, and 72 of Wells's season rocketed over the Monster, after the boos cascaded down on him (''They were saying, 'Boo-mer,' I thought," Wells cracked) to wish that the landlord, Bronson Arroyo, were the pitcher retained, Wells the pitcher dealt. But he wasn't. He is here, though last night he didn't stay for long. He was gone two batters (homer, double) into the fifth inning, the pitcher of record in an unsightly 8-4 beating at the hands of the Blue Jays before the largest regular-season night crowd ever at Fenway (36,378).

''Batting practice tonight, really," said Wells, who has given up 377 home runs in his career, more than all but 14 pitchers ever to play in the big leagues.

''Balls were catching a lot of the plate," manager Terry Francona said. ''They were taking pretty healthy swings."

That went for both teams, as the Red Sox and Blue Jays mashed six combined homers, three apiece, some aided by a 15-mile-per-hour wind out of the south blowing hard toward the Monster. But the Jays' three homers meant more, and came at more devastating junctures.

Alex Rios, who knocked in a career-best four runs, accounted for the first, with Sox killer Reed Johnson (on base four times last night) aboard. It was Jays 2, Sox 0, and Wells had yet to get anyone out. Wells managed two outs, then left a pitch over the plate to Bengie Molina, who cleared the 37-foot wall, the three rows of seats, the fence behind the seats, and well, you get the picture. Jays 3, Sox 0.

What went wrong?

''You name it," Wells said. ''Just didn't have it."

But, he wasn't coming out. Not yet.

''I don't want to take guys out early in the game, especially early in the season," Francona said. ''I'd rather let him find himself. The reward is better doing that than just taking a guy out."

So, he allowed Wells to labor. The lefthander faced seven batters in the opening inning (four hits, three runs) and seven more (four hits, two runs) in the second, despite having none on and two out in the inning. After erasing a leadoff single with a double play, he went walk-double-single-single, expanding the deficit to 5-0.

For a while, the Sox, backed by two backup outfielders, looked capable of doing something about it. Dustan Mohr was in center last night, wearing a familiar center fielder's No. 18 (''Hopefully, I can do the number proud," he said). Wily Mo Peña was in right.

And both, though admittedly nervous, validated the team's faith in them. Mohr, in the fourth, with Mike Lowell aboard, tore into a Gustavo Chacin cutter, sending it high over the Sports Authority sign and off into the Boston night.

''I wish I could say I wasn't nervous, but I was," said Mohr, who homered 17 times last season, 13 times at Coors Field. ''This is a big stage. I'm just a country boy from Mississippi."

But Wells gave those two runs right back. After going through the Blue Jays in order in the third and fourth, he couldn't get another out. Vernon Wells took him up and out for a homer to lead off the fifth and Troy Glaus singled to center. That KO'd Wells, who'd be charged with a seventh run when Aaron Hill doubled in Glaus off Lenny DiNardo.

''You try to keep the team in the game," Wells said. ''It worked for two innings and then the wheels fell off."

David Ortiz, leading off the bottom of the inning, buried one inside Pesky's Pole for his third homer and second in as many days since signing up for four more seasons at $52 million. Peña chipped away another run, cutting it to 7-4 with a screaming homer into the camera box in center that, in Jason Varitek's only slightly exaggerated estimation, left the park ''in about 0.1 seconds."

Peña, back in the field after that inning, said the fans, who'd mock cheered him a day earlier gave him a genuine ovation.

''My heart," he said, ''went beep-beep."

Out of the eight-hole, Peña produced a single, a walk, and a homer in four plate appearances, but the spots that followed -- No. 9 hitter Alex Gonzalez, No. 1 hitter Kevin Youkilis, and No. 2 hitter Mark Loretta went a combined 0 for 14 with three strikeouts (all belonging to Youkilis). Two of those infielders -- shortstop Gonzalez and first baseman Youkilis -- played defense nothing shy of spectacular.

Gonzalez, in the first, went deep in the hole on a Wells grounder, slid on his leg, dug in his right cleat as a means of catapulting himself back to his feet, and gunned out Wells, with Youkilis making an excellent stretch, one of three stretches or scoops he made on the night.

But that part of the order proved a rally killer. Gonzalez has been an automatic out over the last four games, going 0 for 14. In the past two days, he's grounded out to the pitcher three times. Another regular out: Manny Ramírez. He did walk but otherwise went 0 for 3, including a double-play ground out, to fall to 0 for 10 over the last three games. He began the season 1 for 10 through three games, and, on the season, sits at .214.

But they might be spared today. Wells assumes he'll be the target on the airwaves.

''I know there's going to be a lot of negative things said and reactions from people," he said. ''That's not a big deal to me. My goal is going out there and being sharper and utilizing all of my pitches. That's what I didn't do tonight."