May 15, 2003 ... The Red Sox reminded the baseball world what a difference a year can make as Pedro Martinez and his pals whipsawed the Rangers, 12-3, before an emotionally charged 33,801 as the Sox improved to 14-4 at Fenway Park and matched the Royals for the best home record in the game. With Martinez masterly as usual despite a sore groin, the Sox completed a three-game sweep of the Rangers and provided further evidence that the Fens can be friendly after all to Grady Little's traveling band. Last year, the Sox were a subpar 42-39 at home, a major reason they failed to reach the postseason

Martinez, in his final tuneup before he faces the Yankees Tuesday, blanked the Rangers on five hits over six innings as he improved to 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA. He struck out eight and allowed only one runner to reach third base as he stymied Texas at every turn.

For Martinez's labors, the Sox rewarded him with a lead so mammoth it was virtually bullpen-proof. Every starter either scored or knocked in a run as Nomar Garciaparra paced the attack by driving in three runs with a triple and a double in extending his hitting streak to 16 games. Bill Mueller, who also tripled and doubled, knocked in two runs, as did David Ortiz and Varitek. The Sox led, 10-0, after the sixth inning.

The lead was safe enough that Jason Shiell, who started the seventh, escaped the crowd's wrath after coughing up three runs, including solo homers by Todd Greene and Carl Everett, before Bruce Chen finished things off in the ninth.

The crowd turned instead on Everett, ridiculing him with chants of "Everett! Everett!," and hurling at least two balls and a third unidentified object at the right fielder, prompting Texas manager Buck Showalter to rush from the dugout in the seventh inning to try to ensure his safety. One of the balls apparently was the home run Everett hit to right field. Everett was lifted after the inning, to spare him from further danger, though both managers ran out subs for some of their stars amid the blowout.

The Sox, who matched their season highs with 12 runs and 16 hits, began the beating with Garciaparra's two-run triple in the third inning, then piled on with five more runs in the fourth. Putting the game out of reach, the Sox sent 10 batters to the plate in the fourth as they started off by chasing Texas starter Alan Benes on four straight hits: singles by Ortiz, Kevin Millar, and Trot Nixon that produced one run, and a two-run triple into the right-field corner by Mueller that gave the Sox a 5-0 edge. With Todd Van Poppel in for Benes, Varitek kept things rolling by singling to right to make it 6-0. And Manny Ramirez topped it off by singling home Varitek to stake Martinez to the 7-0 lead. So they scored three more in the sixth. Ortiz's two-run single and Garciaparra's run-scoring double were the key blows, though Damon doubled and Walker singled to set the table.

Martinez sent the Rangers early notice he planned a punishing night for them as he mowed down the first two batters, Everett, who was batting .326, and Hank Blalock, who was leading the league at .378, on strikes. He walked the next batter, Alex Rodriguez, but immediately rendered that irrelevant by getting Rafael Palmeiro to tap his next pitch back to the mound on a checked swing to end the inning. Similar scenarios unfolded as Martinez repeatedly found ways to thwart the Rangers when they reached base.

The force of Martinez's performance went far in easing concerns about any lingering effects of his groin injury, which he suffered Friday in Minnesota. He pitched in generally unwelcome conditions, since the temperature was 50 degrees at game time and appeared to drop. The crowd of 33,801 was only the second sellout of the season and the first since Patriots Day.

Nomar Garciaparra, who extended his hitting streak to 16 games, tied Harry Hooper for 13th place on the club's all-time list with his 246th career double. Billy Goodman is 12th with 248. Garciaparra's triple was his fourth of the season, one shy of his total last year. The triple also was his third in May, marking the third time in his career he has tripled three or more times in a month.