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GAME LOG
SEATTLE (AP) -- Pedro Martinez gave the bullpen a rest and the
Boston Red Sox a boost.
Martinez improved to 9-0 on the road this season, pitching a
five-hitter as the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 5-2
Wednesday night.
|  | | Once M's starter Freddy Garcia let in four runs in the first, "I knew that if I just threw strikes it was over," Pedro Martinez said. |
Less than 21 hours after Seattle edged Boston in 19 innings,
Martinez (13-3) struck out seven and walked two in his fifth
complete game of the season and the 33rd of his career.
"To say his performance was outstanding is an understatement,"
catcher Jason Varitek said, "especially when you consider how our
bullpen has been worked recently."
"Nineteen innings followed by Pedro is not the right tonic for
winning," Mariners manager Lou Piniella said.
In six career appearances against Seattle, including five
starts, Martinez is 6-0. He has allowed only 18 hits and five
earned runs to the Mariners, with 66 strikeouts and 14 walks in 45
innings.
"I just had a good game," Martinez said. "I felt I needed to
help out the guys in the bullpen. They've picked me up so many
times this year. I needed to do this for them."
Nomar Garciaparra went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs,
improving his major league-leading average to .393.
Four first-inning runs were all Martinez needed against Seattle.
He allowed two-out singles in the third and fifth innings to Mark
McLemore and Carlos Guillen, and three eighth-inning singles by
Guillen, Dan Wilson and Al Martin.
Martinez has a 1.20 ERA in 11 road starts this season.
"He really pitched a strong game," Red Sox manager Jimy
Williams said. "He was around the plate with his pitches inside
and out. He was really never laboring, so I was going to stick with
him."
The Red Sox jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning.
Mariners starter Freddy Garcia (3-2) walked the first two
batters before Garciaparra hit a one-out double to left-center for
two runs. Troy O'Leary singled and scored with Garciaparra on Varitek's double to right-center.
"After we got the early lead, I knew that if I just threw
strikes it was over," Martinez said.
Leading off the fifth, Trot Nixon reached first on Garcia's
throwing error. He stole second and came home on Garciaparra's
two-out single to make it 5-0.
Garcia pitched well after the first. He allowed seven hits and
five runs, four earned, with three strikeouts and three walks in
seven innings.
Seattle scored two runs in the eighth. Guillen led off with a
single and went to third on Wilson's single. Guillen scored on
McLemore's groundout, and Wilson came home on Martin's first hit
with the Mariners.
"You try to take him up the middle," Martin said of facing
Martinez. "He has so many pitches that he can throw for a strike
at any time.
Martinez threw 87 of his 120 pitches for strikes.
He has lasted at least seven innings in all but one start this
season. The Red Sox are 14-5 in his starts.
Game notes
Martinez's streak of five straight games with 10 or more
strikeouts was snapped. He is 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA in three starts
at Safeco Field. ... Boston RHP Ramon Martinez, Pedro's older
brother, was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee
contusion. RHP Rick Croushore was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket.
... Edgar Martinez is 1-for-18 (.056) lifetime against Tuesday's
starter Tim Wakefield, and 1-for-14 (.076) against Pedro Martinez.
... Seattle, which went 7-6 on its longest homestand of the season,
still has the best home record in the AL at 37-19. ... Martin,
batting leadoff, got his first AL hit in the eighth inning.
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AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jason Varitek says Pedro Martinez gave the bullpen a much needed rest.
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