|
THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
Pedro pitches a two hit masterpiece
June 8, 2004 ... It was
Pedro Martinez and Johnny Damon, with some nice defensive help from Ramirez and Reese, who combined to propel the Sox
tonight past the San Diego Padres in a 1-0 nail-biter before 35,205 at Fenway Park. How could they not after the masterwork Martinez submitted and the winning hit Damon delivered to spoil San Diego's
inaugural visit to the Fens?
In his finest outing of the season, Martinez blanked the Padres on two hits, a walk and a hit batsman over eight innings, putting Damon in position to contribute. And Damon did just that, rifling a double into the right-field corner with two outs in the seventh inning
to drive in Gabe Kapler with the game's only run.
Kapler, who currently favors Francona's shaved-scalp look, cleared the way for Damon's winning hit by lofting a towering double off the Monster with one out and moving to third on pinch hitter Brian Daubach's fly to right. For Kapler, the Mr. Clean approach worked
just fine.
Nor did the Sox need to worry much about the Padres, thanks largely to Martinez, who helped shut them out for only the second time this season. If the Padres had visions of denting the Monster in their Fenway debut, Martinez utterly disappointed them as he allowed only
a first-inning single to Mark Loretta and a fifth inning double to Terrence Long. The Sox ace fanned eight as he reached 94 miles an hour on the radar gun numerous times, at least four times for strikeouts. After Martinez flummoxed the Padres for eight innings - he threw 115 pitches in
lowering his ERA to 3.98 from 4.40 - Keith Foulke retired them in order in the ninth for his 12th save. Martinez's numbers were nearly as impressive April 25th, when he blanked the Yankees on four hits and a walk for seven innings in a 2- 0 victory. But he seemed more dominant against
the Padres, capitalizing on some minor corrections he made in his delivery by studying videotape and working with pitching coach Dave Wallace.
Martinez needed to be at his best since San Diego starter David Wells held the Sox scoreless for 5 2/3 innings, scattering six hits, walking none and striking out two. But the Sox capitalized against the San Diego pen, with Kapler doubling off former Yankee Antonio
Osuna and Damon doing his damage against Akinori Otsuka. The Padres summoned Otsuka, who was holding opponents to a .144 batting average and had struck out 34 batters in 28 1/3 innings, specifically to face Damon. But Damon, who leads the Sox with a .351 batting average with runners in
scoring position, delivered again.
Nomar Garciaparra was in good spirits during batting practice tonight. He hugged a teammate, signed an autograph, and sprayed line drives all over McCoy Stadium, where he hadn't played since 1996. Though many thought Garciaparra would make his Red Sox season debut
tonight against the Padres at Fenway Park, he played another game with the PawSox, the sixth of his rehab stint for right Achilles' tendonitis. He played six innings in a 5-1 loss to the Louisville Bats and went 0 for 3. |
