David Wells made his Boston debut and began looking ahead to opening day; Andy Pettitte still is waiting to make his first start of spring training.

Wells worked two solid innings during the Tampa Bay Devil Rays’ 6-4 victory over the Red Sox on Saturday, then said he would be happy to start opening night April 3 against his former team, the New York Yankees, if Curt Schilling wasn’t yet recovered from offseason ankle surgery.

“I don’t mind taking the ball in any game no matter what, especially a big game, and the first game of the season is going to be a big game,” said Wells, who now wears No. 3, the same number one of his favorite players, Babe Ruth, wore with the Yankees.

Pettitte was scratched from his scheduled start for Houston because of a sprained right ankle after falling down stairs at his apartment Friday.

“He’s feeling pretty good today, and it is not as swollen as we thought it would be,” Houston manager Phil Garner said.

Pettitte tested the ankle in a brief session at the Astros’ camp Saturday morning. The 32-year-old left-hander is trying to rebound from an injury-plagued 2004 season that included three trips to the disabled list because of elbow problems.

“He probably could have gone a little longer, but we didn’t want to push it,” Garner said. “We’ll give him another bullpen session on Tuesday and maybe pitch him in a game later in the week.”

After going through rehab for the past eight months, Pettitte pitched three innings in a simulated game Tuesday.

Tim Redding replaced Pettitte and struck out six in four scoreless innings to help Houston defeat the Cleveland Indians, 7-3, in Winter Haven, Fla.

At Fort Myers, Fla., the 41-year-old Wells allowed four hits, one earned run and a wild pitch. He had no walks or strikeouts while throwing 28 pitches, 20 for strikes.

“My only job here is to go in here and win with the Boston Red Sox and try to give them quality innings and try to bring another championship to Boston,” Wells said.

B.J. Upton hit a solo homer for Tampa Bay. David Ortiz hit a three-run homer, and Trot Nixon added a solo shot for Boston.

At Tucson, Ariz., Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Carlos Lee was hit by a pitch in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies and left the game immediately.

Lee, acquired in a Dec. 13 trade that sent Scott Podsednik to the Chicago White Sox, was hit on the left hand by a pitch from Rockies starter Jamey Wright.

X-rays were negative. Lee was to be re-evaluated by team doctor William Raasch at Milwaukee’s spring training facility in Phoenix.

“He’s a big part of our club, but he’ll be fine,” Brewers manager Ned Yost said. “We’ll play it day-to-day and look at it. It’s just a bruise.”

In other games:

Yankees 5, Phillies (ss) 2

At Tampa, Fla., Hideki Matsui hit a grand slam, and Jaret Wright allowed three hits in three scoreless innings.

Twins 4, Blue Jays 1

At Dunedin, Fla., Carlos Silva threw four strong innings for Minnesota.

Nationals 6, Marlins 3

At Jupiter, Fla., Josh Beckett turned in the finest performance by any Florida starter this spring, allowing four hits and one unearned run in six innings.

Tigers 4, Braves (ss) 3

At Kissimmee, Fla., Tim Hudson became the first Atlanta starter to give up a run this spring, allowing a homer to Carlos Pena.

Dodgers (ss) 0, Orioles 0, (10)

At Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Sidney Ponson pitched four strong innings in his first spring start after his debut was delayed by a court case back home in Aruba.

Mets 5, Dodgers 5, (11)

At Vero Beach, Fla., Kazuhisa Ishii made a strong case to rejoin Los Angeles’ rotation, allowing one hit over four innings in his first start of the spring.

Phillies (ss) 10,

Braves (ss) 9, (10)

At Clearwater, Fla., Jim Thome hit a pair of two-run shots, and Placido Polanco also homered for Philadelphia. Andy Marte homered twice for Atlanta, and Rafael Furcal also connected.

The Phillies found out right-hander Vicente Padilla would be sidelined for two weeks, then have his tender right elbow re-evaluated. A MRI on Monday confirmed Padilla had triceps tendinitis. He missed two months of the 2004 season because of the same injury.

Mets (ss) 3, Cardinals 2

At Port St. Lucie, Fla., Matt Morris pitched two strong innings in his spring debut following offseason shoulder surgery, but Tom Glavine tossed four innings of no-hit ball for New York. Carlos Beltran hit his second homer for the Mets, and David Wright had a two-run double.

Pirates (ss) 13, Reds (ss) 2

At Sarasota, Fla., Ty Wigginton went 4-for-5 with two RBIs, and Ben Grieve drove in four runs for Pittsburgh.

Pirates (ss) 15, Reds (ss) 12

At Bradenton, Fla., All-Star shortstop Jack Wilson went 0-for-2 in his first spring start for the Pirates but turned in several impressive defensive plays.

Athletics 7, White Sox 6

At Phoenix, Eric Chavez hit a three-run shot for his first home run of the spring for Oakland. Carl Everett hit his third homer and a two-run single for the White Sox.

Diamondbacks 4, Padres 3

At Tucson, Ariz., Alex Cintron went 4-for-4 with two doubles and Arizona got 10 hits off San Diego starter Adam Eaton.

Angels (ss) 8, Cubs 3

At Mesa, Ariz., Nomar Garciaparra homered, doubled and went 3-for-3 for the Cubs. Garret Anderson hit a two-run homer off Greg Maddux for the Angels. Maddux gave up six hits and two runs in four innings.

Giants (ss) 7, Angels (ss) 4

At Scottsdale, Ariz., Michael Tucker doubled twice and drove in two for the Giants.

Mariners 8, Rangers 3

At Peoria, Ariz., Raul Ibanez went 3-for-4 with an RBI, and left-hander Bobby Madritsch pitched three hitless innings.

Brewers 17, Rockies 9

At Tucson, Ariz., Wes Helms hit two home runs, and the Brewers pounded out 20 hits.