BOSTON — The first time he played at Fenway Park, Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton said he remembered sitting in his hotel room and being able to see the storied ballpark, so he called his father because he wanted to share that moment with him.

“It’s a wonderful city and I enjoy the city,” said Helton. “I enjoy playing in the ballpark with this much history. You always know you’re going to get a good game when you play the Red Sox.”

Before last night’s game, Helton had played a total of three games here but he almost became a Red Sox during the offseason. Boston was interested in the veteran slugger but the deal was never finalized because the Sox weren’t willing to surrender some of their young pitching prospects in exchange for Helton.

“It’s hard to talk about something that almost happened,” said Helton. “There are a lot of things in life that almost happen that really don’t add up to much, so I’m excited to be playing for the Rockies right now. We’re playing well and that’s what I’m focused on.”

Still, being a Red Sox was appealing to Helton.

“It’s a wonderful franchise,” he said. “A lot of people would like to play here. It seems like they do everything right and this is a very cool stadium.”

When asked if he thinks it takes a special breed of a player to work in Boston, Helton said: “I imagine it does.”

Getting a grip on knuckler

Terry Francona confirmed that Tim Wakefield, last night’s starter, worked with former knuckleballer Tom Candiotti, last weekend in Arizona.

Wakefield has worked with retired knuckleballers Charlie Hough and Phil Niekro in the past, and Candiotti, now a broadcaster with the Arizona Diamondbacks, was happy to help, too.

Candiotti offered Wakefield, who had lost four of his previous five starts before last night, some tips on different grips for the pitch.

Patience with Lester

In optioning Jon Lester to Pawtucket Monday, the Red Sox, according to Sox manager Terry Francona, sent him a message.

“Force us to have you here,” said the manager, relaying what was communicated to the lefty. “We said all along we were going to be patient. This kid went through some dramatic stuff this winter.”

Lester has been given permission to throw his cut fastball without reservation. Last month, he suffered some cramping in the foream linked to the pitch.

Interest in Romero

The Red Sox have another six days to trade, release or place on waivers lefty J.C. Romero, who was designated for assignment over the weekend.

According to several industry sources, a number of teams have called to inquire about Romero, whom the Sox signed over the winter as a free agent. Romero has about $900,000 remaining on his $1.4-million salary.

Its expected that Romero could draw significant interest from several National League clubs.

Signing overseas prospect

The Sox confirmed the signing of a 19-year-old Taiwanese outfielder, Lin Che-hsuan. Che-hsuan is said to have good speed, range and a strong arm. His signing bonus was reported to be $400,000, one of the highest paid to a player in Taiwan in recent years.

He’ll report to the team’s Fort Myers rookie league affiliate in the Gulf Coast League later this week. Che-hsuan said his goal is to be in the big leagues in four years.

Lowell in lineup

Mike Lowell remained in the lineup despite a sore left thumb, suffered on the last homestand. Lowell was just 2-for-20 on the road trip to Oakland and Arizona and over the last eight games, had just three hits in his last 25 at-bats, dropping from .337 to .312.

Lowell was 1-for-4 last night with a single in the fourth inning. He entered last night with the second-highest home batting average (.394) of any American League regular.

Around the bases

Julio Lugo stole third base in the third, making him 18-for-18 in stolen bases, a franchise record. … David Ortiz (three hits, one walk), has now reached base safely in 29 straight games and 34 of his last 35. Ortiz is batting .376 (35-for-93) with 17 RBI in his last 26 games. … Almost half (34-of-70) of Jonathan Papelbon’s outs this year have come via strikeout. Last night, he fanned two of the three hitters he faced in the ninth while recording his 15th save in 16 tries.

jmcdonal@projo.com