ALFONSO SORIANO

THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
The Sox lose two in Arlington

May 1, 2004 ... Absorbing a 1-2 punch that cost them sole possession of the best record in baseball, the Sox dropped a twi-night doubleheader as the Rangers snapped a stretch of 32 1/3 scoreless innings by Boston relievers (the franchise's longest streak in 14 years) to win the opener before they upended Pedro Martinez for the first time in five years to clinch the nightcap.

The Saturday night massacre occurred two days after the Sox swept a day-night doubleheader from the Devil Rays back home.

Nothing was more striking than Martinez's futility. The night after he severed contract talks with the Sox and sharply criticized management for its treatment of him and three other premier players approaching free agency, the ace fared far worse than bullpen-bound Bronson Arroyo did against the Rangers in the opener. The long-remarkable Martinez, who was 8-1 in 11 career starts against the Rangers and had never allowed more than three earned runs in a game against them, lacked his signature command as he surrendered six runs on nine hits and a walk to send the Sox to an 8- 5 defeat before 44,598 at The Ballpark in Arlington.

Martinez's act of misery unfolded after the Rangers snuck up on the Sox' pen in the opener, spoiling a fine performance by Arroyo in his final start before he moves to the bullpen. Arroyo, who departed with a 2-1 lead and a runner on first base with no outs in the seventh inning, watched Mark Malaska and Scott Williamson try in vain to hold the advantage as the Rangers scored three times en route to a 4-3 victory that snapped Boston's six-game winning streak.

Martinez, too, it turns out. With the Sox hungry to salvage the nightcap, Martinez lasted only four innings as the Rangers feasted on his subpar stuff, striking for a home run and four booming doubles amid the onslaught. Even Alfonso Soriano, hitting a punchless .125 (4 for 32) against the Sox ace, cranked a two-run double while the Rangers batted around against Martinez and scored four times in the third inning. Martinez threw 33 pitches in the laborious inning, contributing to his early departure after he fired 87 pitches through the fourth.

The Sox' lineup, whose struggles largely have been offset by spectacular pitching, did little to help Arroyo or Martinez. Time and again, the Sox left runners on base and prolonged their troubling run of inefficiency with runners in scoring position. The Sox managed to score in the first game only on Mark Bellhorn's double and Pokey Reese's single, both in the fourth inning, and Johnny Damon's double in the ninth. No one struggled more than Manny Ramirez, who struck out in each of his four trips to the plate. The Sox also spoiled two scoring chances by grounding into double plays.

The results were little better in the nightcap. After a promising start in which Damon tripled leading off the game and scored on Bill Mueller's sacrifice fly, the Sox mustered only a single run on Jason Varitek's solo shot in the sixth inning before they rallied from an 8-2 deficit with three runs in the ninth.  The Sox scared the Rangers enough in the ninth inning by bringing the tying run to the plate that Texas manager Buck Showalter summoned fireballing closer Francisco Cordero for the second time on the night.

It marked the second straight strong start for Arroyo, who will be replaced in the rotation by Byung Hyun Kim. Arroyo also held the Yankees to two runs over six innings in his last outing. All told, Arroyo went 0-1 with a 4.44 ERA in four starts.

Nomar Garciaparra made it clear he was so miffed at Red Sox management that he might not stay beyond this year. Soon thereafter, Derek Lowe gave every indication he planned to enter free agency after the season. Then Pedro Martinez formally broke off contract talks with the Sox Friday and vowed to become a free agent after the World Series.