San Diego Padres pitcher David Wells was scratched from last night's start against the Cardinals at St. Louis due to gout in his right foot.

Wells, 0-2 with a 4.43 E.R.A. in four starts with the Padres since being acquired from the Red Sox on Aug. 31, had been bothered by a sprained right ankle. Manager Bruce Bochy said Wells was limping slightly after the team flight on Sunday night and felt much worse yesterday.

Bochy said Wells will get skipped in the rotation, adding that it could take as long as three or four days for medication to produce results. Rookie Mike Thompson, 4-5 with a 4.77 E.R.A., replaced Wells against the Cardinals and was making his first start since Aug. 30.

"He couldn't pick a worse time to come down with it," Bochy said. "My guess is in a couple of days he'll be feeling a lot better."

ROUNDUP EXTENSION FOR CASTRO: Cincinnati infielder Juan Castro agreed yesterday to a $2-million, two-year contract extension with the Reds. The 34-year-old Castro is hitting .272 in 50 games during his second tour of duty with Cincinnati. He played for Cincinnati from 2000-04 before signing with Minnesota as a free agent. He was reacquired by the Reds from the Twins on June 15 for minor-league outfielder Brandon Roberts. Castro gets $925,000 in 2007 and $975,000 in 2008. The Reds have a 2008 option at $1.1 million with a $100,000 buyout.

BAEK TO DL: The Seattle Mariners placed right-hander Cha Seung Baek on the 60-day disabled list yesterday with tendinitis in the triceps. Seattle called up right-hander Jorge Campillo from Triple-A Tacoma to take Baek's roster spot.

ASTROS WOULD HOST PLAYOFF: -- The Houston Astros would host the St. Louis Cardinals next Tuesday in a one-game playoff if both teams finish tied for the N.L. Central title. Major League Baseball held a coin toss yesterday to determine the site of a potential game between the Astros and Cardinals. Entering yesterday's games, the Astros were 3 1/2 games behind the Cardinals. For such a tie-breaker to be necessary, a makeup of the Sept. 17 game between the Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants at Busch Stadium would have to be played next Monday.

RADKE MAY PITCH: Twins right-hander Brad Radke, who has a torn labrum and a stress fracture in his throwing shoulder, might be able to make a start for Minnesota this week. Radke did some light bullpen work yesterday and felt better than he did in his last session. If the 33-year-old, who plans to retire after the season, isn't hurting when he reports to the Metrodome for today's game, the Twins will likely start him in the next couple of days.

JOHNSON AILING: Randy Johnson will miss his final regular-season turn in the New York Yankees' rotation because of back spasms. The left-hander had been scheduled to start Thursday night against Baltimore. The A.L. East champion Yankees hope he will be ready for the postseason. "It's been a progression thing," Johnson said last night. "Let's get it taken care of, and obviously the regular-season start doesn't mean much. So we'll get ready for the postseason game." Johnson is 17-11 with a 5.00 E.R.A. this season. "My back is locked up right now," he said. "With the rest we'll hopefully get it well."

A GRAND RECORD: The Cleveland Indians have slammed their way to tying a major-league record. Casey Blake's grand slam in the sixth inning last night against the Chicago White Sox gave Cleveland 14 slams, tying them with the 2000 Oakland Athletics for the most in a single season. Before he was lost for the season with a broken hand, Travis Hafner matched Don Mattingly's major-league record with six slams. Blake hit two and Ben Broussard, Shin Soo-Choo, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Andy Marte, Jason Michaels and Jhonny Peralta each had one for Cleveland.