MIGUEL TEJADA

THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
The Orioles pound Pedro and the Sox

April 15, 2004 ... Pedro Martinez committed a nearly unprecedented act of personal futility, putting the Sox in peril as he suffered one of the worst poundings of his storied career.

With Martinez long gone after departing amid a 7-7 deadlock in the fifth inning, the Sox were left to slog it out until the Orioles struck for five runs in the 11th to steal a 12-7 victory before 35,271 as baseball returned to Fenway Park after two straight rainouts. The collapse unfolded as the Sox tried to gain some traction before they open a four-game showdown against the Yankees in the Fens tonight.

Miguel Tejada stunned the Sox as he opened the 11th by homering over the Green Monster on a 2-and-2 hanging curve from Bronson Arroyo, the sixth reliever trying to pick up Martinez after the ace's disappointing start.

Martinez's rough outing, which helped force extra innings, was the last thing the Sox needed after three days of rest seemed to provide their bedraggled relief corps the respite it badly needed. The extended affair marked the third time the Sox have played into extra innings in their first eight games, and the unexpected workload taxed the pen yet again on the eve of the Yankee series.

The 4-hour-28-minute game dragged into the night partly because the Sox' lineup went all but silent after striking for seven runs in the first four innings against Sidney Ponson. Until the 10th inning, only one Sox runner reached second base after the fourth, when Millar doubled leading off the fifth and went no farther.

Long before the final twist, a sellout crowd watched Martinez's ERA soar to 4.82 from 1.98 over his five difficult innings. Unable to master his trademark command, the ace surrendered the seven runs on eight hits and four walks before he unceremoniously departed. Just five days earlier, Martinez appeared to have regained his form when he rationed the Blue Jays a lone run over 7 2/3 innings. But last night he looked more like he did when the Orioles hammered him for 10 runs at Fenway last April in the worst outing of his career.

As a measure of Martinez's woes, the 10-run thrashing ranks as the only time he has surrendered more than seven earned runs in his 291 career starts. Other than last night, he had been tagged for seven earned runs only five times, most recently April 1, 2002, vs. the Blue Jays at Fenway. Martinez suffered the cruelest blow last night when his pal, David Segui, rocked him for a three-run homer in the fifth, lifting the Orioles out of a 7-4 hole. Martinez also allowed Brian Roberts to homer leading off the game and got dinged for three more runs between the bookend homers.

Martinez, who was not available to comment afterward, escaped with a no-decision thanks to a similar beating the Sox applied to Ponson. Led by Mueller, who popped a three-run homer, and Damon, who knocked in three runs with a pair of singles, the Sox seized the 7- 4 lead before Segui countered against Martinez. Francona decided against exposing Martinez to further abuse by sending him to the shower after 103 pitches.

In his first action since an exhibition against the Cardinals March 10, Byung Hyun Kim (strained right shoulder) pitched two perfect innings in a rehab outing for Single A Sarasota against the Yankees' affiliate from Tampa. He struck out two and needed only 14 pitches to complete the two innings ... Rule V lefthander Lenny DiNardo (strained left shoulder) surrendered three hits and walked none over three scoreless innings in a rehab start for Pawtucket. He threw 48 pitches and struck out four.

The Sox were encouraged by how well Trot Nixon (mildly herniated disk) fared in his baseball workout Wednesday at the University of Miami. If things continue to go well, he could move soon from the school's Spine Institute to the team's training headquarters in Fort Myers, Fla.

Negro League great Buck O'Neil delivered a ceremonial first pitch in honor of Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball's color barrier 57 years ago today.