BOSTON -- He has spoiled them, of course, spoiled them rotten. Spoiled the fans, spoiled even his teammates. He has been so good, so consistently, that defeat doesn't seem a part of Pedro Martinez's vast repertoire.
So when he does lose -- as even the great ones must, as Martinez did Saturday -- the effect is nearly crushing. At a time when every Martinez start seems like the closest thing to a guarantee, the occasional setback feels more like 10.
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Pedro vs. the Yankees
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In starts vs. the Yankees since joining the Red Sox in 1998, Pedro Martinez
is 5-4 with a 2.47 ERA (* playoff game): |
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Date
|
IP
|
R
|
H
|
BB
|
SO
|
Dec.
|
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5/31/98
|
5.2
|
4
|
8
|
2
|
6
|
W
|
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9/8/98
|
7.1
|
3
|
5
|
6
|
8
|
L
|
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9/14/98
|
7
|
3
|
7
|
0
|
9
|
L
|
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5/18/99
|
7
|
2
|
10
|
4
|
11
|
W
|
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9/10/99
|
9
|
1
|
1
|
0
|
17
|
W
|
|
10/16/99*
|
7
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
12
|
W
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5/28/00
|
9
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0
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4
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1
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9
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W
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6/14/00
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6
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1
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6
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2
|
7
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--
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6/20/00
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8
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3
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5
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1
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9
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L
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9/9/00
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7
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3
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4
|
2
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9
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L
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Totals
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73
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20
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52
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18
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99
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5-4
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Martinez shut out the Yankees for six innings Saturday, but a single, a two-out walk and a three-run homer by Scott Brosius erased a 1-0 Boston lead and sent the Sox spinning to a 5-3 defeat that pushed them eight games behind New York.
Worse, it helped the Oakland A's leapfrog over the Sox in the wild-card chase, meaning there are now two teams over which to hurdle if the Sox are to extend their playoff appearance streak to three consecutive years.
"Pedro is Pedro, but the Yankees are the Yankees," said Red Sox manager Jimy Williams. "They don't win world championships for nothing. Pedro's a human being. As good a pitcher as he is, he's still human."
For the first six innings, Martinez had everyone debating that point. He didn't allow a hit until the fourth, and were it not for some errors, the Yankees wouldn't have had a runner in scoring position until the seventh.
With two on and two out in the fateful seventh, Martinez thought he struck Brosius out with a cut fastball on the outside edge of the plate. Umpire Fieldin Culbreth remained unconvinced.
Two pitches later, Brosius, who had swung and missed badly on two changeups early in the count, didn't miss a third, slamming it over The Wall in left.
Fenway -- celebratory and raucuous as ever when Martinez goes to the mound -- was sent into a state of near-silent shock.
"One pitch cost me the game," said Martinez. "The one pitch I thought I had a stirkeout and the one pitch I gave up the homer. Maybe I would have held on to (the lead had Brosius been called out). I looked at the video and it seemed to bite the corner. I thought it should have been a strike."
But, careful not to point blame elsewhere, Martinez accepted responsibility.
"As a pitcher, you want them all," he said, smiling. "I don't blame (Culbreth) because we're all human. (New York starter Andy) Pettitte made it difficult, and I gave up the bomb. That settled it. I held on (to the 1-0 lead) as long as I could."
Nearly overshadowed was the brilliant effort from Pettitte, who became the first pitcher this season to outduel Martinez two times.
Pettitte had blanked Boston and Martinez 3-0 on June 20, and without much fanfare had won eight of his last nine starts en route to 18 victories before yesterday.
The lefty was nicked for a solo run in the third when Carl Everett's Wall double scored Jose Offerman, but he was unyielding after that point, retiring 15 of the last 17 hitters he faced.
"All week long," recounted Pettitte, "my friends and family have been calling me saying, 'Oh now, you've got Pedro.' It was almost like they were counting the loss already."
As Martinez built momentum later into the game, Pettitte kept the Yankees within striking distance.
"This was a playoff atmosphere," he marveled, "There's so much energy out there. No knock, but it's not like pitching in Kansas City where nobody in the stands says anything. I walked out there today and got goosebumps.
"Any time you play here it's like that, but it's even more so when Pedro pitches. The fans are just so into it when Pedro pitches."
The numbers are no daunting for the Red Sox, but Martinez, as is the case when he's on the mound, refused to give in.
"We've been there before," Martinez said. "We've got a lot of time to get (the games) back. Three games? We can make that up with three straight wins. We beat (Cleveland) three games in a row in the playoffs."
But when the Red Sox fail to pick up ground with Martinez, the perception is that they're falling backward.
Ever the optimist, Martinez expressed faith in his teammates.
"They now what they have to do," he said. "Hopefully, they'll pick me up."
That kind of role reversal isn't what the Red Sox had in mind for September, which means the prospect of playing in October may be dimming. | |
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Brosius 3-run bomb pushes Pettitte over Pedro
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