ST. LOUIS -- The Padres acquired pitcher David Wells last month for games like Monday's: a matchup in the final week of the regular season against a possible playoff opponent.

A few hours before the Padres' first game at the new Busch Stadium, however, Wells sat reclined on a clubhouse sofa, his swollen right foot propped up on a table.

Wells woke up Monday morning with a case of gout, a type of arthritis caused by the buildup of uric acid in the joints.

"Boomer has a history of it," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "He couldn't have picked a worse time for it."

The Padres treated Wells' condition with anti-inflammatory medication, but the swelling was too severe. At about 4 p.m., they scratched him from his scheduled start versus the St. Louis Cardinals and gave the assignment to unofficial sixth starter Mike Thompson.

"It's very painful," Padres trainer Todd Hutcheson said of the swelling on the ball of Wells' foot, near his big toe. "We thought about numbing it, but we didn't think it would be safe to numb that large of an area and put him out there."

Bochy said the gout, which is unrelated to the sprained right ankle that impaired Wells for several outings, shouldn't prevent him from starting Saturday in Arizona for the Padres' penultimate game of the season.

"It is something we can get under control," Bochy said.

Wells declined to comment Monday, but Hutcheson said genetics could be a component in the 43-year-old left-hander's history of gout. Triggers for excessive production of uric acid by the liver include a diet high in rich foods like red meat and red wine, both of which the hefty Wells has been known to indulge in on occasion.

"It's known as a rich man's disease," Bochy said. "I got it when I would eat wild game -- jerky and venison."

History's afterglow

Baseball's new save king was flooded with interview requests Monday -- Trevor Hoffman said he accommodated six or seven of them. But the team flight to St. Louis on Sunday night gave the Padres' closer time to reflect on the magnitude of breaking Lee Smith's all-time saves record.

Though Hoffman appreciated the postgame call from commissioner Bud Selig -- "That wowed me," he said -- his favorite moments were the personal ones. Like his three sons wearing T-shirts made by wife Tracy that read "Saving 479." Like his warm on-field embrace with older brother Glenn, the Padres' third-base coach.

"It took me back to childhood," Trevor said, "and looking for the approval that an 8-year-old wanted in the backyard."

Like when he noticed that the Marines unit that comes to Sunday games at Petco Park had made its usual late-inning exit, conjuring memories of his late father, Ed, a Marine who fought in World War II and died in 1995.

"I said to myself, 'Dad must have gotten nervous and kicked them out,' " Hoffman said. "He needed that section to himself."

Short hops

3B Russell Branyan recovered from getting hit on the hand by a pitch Sunday, but manager Bruce Bochy opted to start Todd Walker, who entered 10-for-34 against St. Louis RHP Jeff Suppan. … Tonight's game pits Padres RHP Woody Williams against Cardinals RHP Chris Carpenter. They were teammates on the St. Louis club that reached the World Series in 2004.