01:00 AM EDT on Monday, July 24, 2006

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

SEATTLE -- This wasn't the homecoming that Jon Lester dreamed of.

Raised in nearby Tacoma and pitching in front of about 50 friends and family members, Lester weathered a rough outing at Safeco Field.

He lasted five innings and surrendered five runs on eight hits. When the Sox took the lead at 7-5 in the sixth, he stood to earn the victory. But when the Mariners reached reliever Manny Delcarmen for two runs in the home half of the seventh, Lester's stake to a win was lost.

One game after allowing just one hit in eight innings, Lester gave up hits to the first four hitters he faced yesterday.

"He got us to the point where we had the lead," said manager Terry Francona of his rookie lefty.

"I thought I threw the ball well," said Lester. "I got hit a little bit, but that happens sometimes.

The big blow off Lester was a two-run homer by Eduardo Perez in the third.

"That," said Lester, "was a changeup that stayed up and he hit it out. You have to tip your hat."

Lester issued only one walk yesterday. He had given up a minimum of three walks in each of his last five outings.

He remains undefeated in his nine major-league starts. The Sox have won all but two -- his first start and yesterday's.

Wells could start Sunday

On the last homestand, the Red Sox said rehabbing pitcher David Wells was ready to make a start or two at the minor-league level -- an assignment that Wells has previously resisted -- before being activated.

Now, that might not be necessary.

Wells is scheduled to pitch five innings -- or about 75 pitches -- this afternoon at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. He'll have to demonstrate that he can field the position and cover first base. If all goes well, it's possible he could start Sunday night against the Angels.

The Sox understand that Wells has only so many innings left and might be tempted to have him throw them all for the parent club rather than wasting them at the minor-league level.

Gabbard next start in limbo

The Sox are unsure of when Kason Gabbard will pitch again.

The club has an off-day Thursday, when Gabbard's turn next arrives. He could pitch the opener of the series with Los Angeles on Friday, giving the rest of the rotation an extra day of rest between starts. Or, he could be skipped altogether, with the rest of the rotation pitching on regular rest.

Much will depend on the workloads for Josh Beckett (tonight in Oakland) and Curt Schilling (tomorrow night). If the two come through without extraordinarily high pitch counts, they might not need the extra day.

Inside-the-park woes

The inside-the-park home run by Adrian Beltre was the first in the history of Safeco Field and came almost exactly two years to the day after the last one against the Red Sox.

That, too, came under some strange circumstances.

On July 21, 2004, at Fenway, Manny Ramirez "intercepted" Johnny Damon's cutoff throw and enabled David Newhan of the Baltimore Orioles to successfully round the bases.

Ortiz remains hot

David Ortiz continued his magical July.

He leads the American League with 24 RBI this month and has 10 homers, tops in the game. Only Atlanta's Andruw Jones (24) has more RBI in the big leagues this month.

Young pitching staff

The Sox have had three pitchers make their major-league debut this season -- Lester, Gabbard and David Pauley. The last time that happened was 1963 when Bob Heffner, Dave Morehead and Jerry Stephenson accomplished the same feat.

Six of Boston's 12 pitchers are rookies -- Lester, Gabbard, Manny Delcarmen, Craig Hansen, Jonathan Papelbon and Jermaine Van Buren. The only other staff with more is the Florida Marlins, who have seven.

Homer streak snapped

When Perez homered off Lester in the third inning, it snapped a streak that had seen the Sox go 78 innings since last allowing a home run . . . Until Perez went deep, the last homer hit off a Red Sox pitcher was July 14, when Mark Ellis hit one out. . . .The Sox dropped to 19-10 in day games with the loss. . . .Ramirez extended his hitting streak to a season-high nine games.

smcadam@projo.com / (401) 277-7340