Pedro Martinez, Boston Red Sox, August 23, 2002 v Anaheim Angels
pedro martinez
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Are The Red Sox Finally Getting Beats Me, But Boston Does Win Ramirez Reaches Base In 12 |
Friday, August 23, 2002
Anaheim Angels at Boston Red Sox
Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Pedro’s Line
| ip | h | r | Er | bb | k | bf | pit | ball | stk | GB | FB |
| 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 28 | 109 | 31 | 78 | 8 | 8 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | r | h | e | ||
| Anaheim | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Boston | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | x | — | 4 | 11 | 0 |
Heaven-sent — Martinez shines for surging Sox
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
Welcome to the pennant race. With a full moon over their shoulders and the first hint of autumn in the breeze at their backs, the Red Sox lurched into the stretch drive last night under the gaze of the Impossible Dream team – and with much of the gusto. … Amid Martinez’s dominance, Manny Ramirez put on a show of his own. The slugger reached base four times on two singles and a pair of walks as he extended his streak of reaching base safely to 12 straight plate appearances, four shy of the record Ted Williams set from Sept. 17-23, 1957.
Pedro again brilliant, unbeatable — Martinez continues outstanding run of dominance
Ian Browne, mlb.com
Beating Pedro Martinez on any night ranks high on the degree-of-difficulty scale. But when you spot him a 4-0 lead after three innings as the Angels did Friday night at Fenway Park, you can pretty much just forget about it. … “I don’t know about everybody else, but to me every game is very important,” said Martinez. “So I take them as serious as I would take them in the playoffs. … I am at my concentration level like it was a playoff game. … Right now we are in a spot where we can’t afford to be losing too many games. Right now we are playing Anaheim, which is a team we are following in the Wild Card. It’s really importnt that we get hot at this point of the season, and if we do that, I think everybody is going to have problems with us too.”
Sox, Pedro too much for Angels
Ian Browne, mlb.com
Pedro Martinez outpitched Jarrod Washburn in a battle of aces and lifted the Red Sox to a 4-1 victory over the Angels at Fenway Park on Friday night in the opener of a key four-game series between two teams fighting for the same Wild Card berth. Martinez (17-3) lowered his ERA to 2.15 to pass Lowe for the Major League lead in that category.
Pedro, Sox make their pitch
Sean McAdam, Providence Journal
If, as it seemed, last night represented the true start of the Red Sox’ playoff push, then it was fitting that the team had Pedro Martinez on the mound to begin its uphill battle toward the postseason. On a crisp night at Fenway Park, inviting thoughts of autumn, Martinez outdueled Anaheim lefty Jarrod Washburn and signaled his readiness for the stretch run, allowing just a single run over eight innings to help steer the Sox to a 4-1 victory, their third straight. That mini-streak, however modest, is the longest the Sox have enjoyed since winning four in a row from July 16-19, and it moved them to within 1 1/2 games of the Angels in the A.L. wild-card chase. Keeping their flickering A.L. East hopes alive, the Sox made up a game on the New York Yankees, and now trail them by six.
Martinez, Red Sox ride hot streak past Angels: Open series with 4-1 win
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald
On a night when there was a nip in the air, the Red Sox played the brand of baseball that can carry them into autumn nights far colder than last night’s.
Martinez is sharp
Garry Brown, Springfield Union-News
With members of the 1967 “Impossible Dream” team cheering them on, the Boston Red Sox took another big step forward last night. Pedro Martinez (17-3) led them, firing a six-hitter over eight innings as the Red Sox dumped the Anaheim Angels 4-1 before a sellout crowd of 33,221 at Fenway Park. Only four nights ago, the Red Sox seemed on the brink of disaster.
No stopping Pedro: Martinez brilliant again as Sox beat Anaheim for 3rd straight win
Art Davidson, MetroWest Daily News
Martinez opened the first of six consecutive crucial games against Anaheim and New York by hurling Boston to a 4-1 victory over the Angels. … Martinez, who threw 109 pitches, lowered his earned run average to 2.15, which moves him ahead of teammate Derek Lowe (2.19) for the league lead. Martinez is now 7-1 lifetime in nine starts against Anaheim. In addition, he’s 10-1 in his last 12 starts and is 16-1 against American League teams. … “I’m very encouraged,” said Martinez. “I’m pitching well and most importantly, I’m healthy. I feel fine. I had a couple of starts recently where I struggled a bit, but I feel good now.”
Moon, Sox’ stars were shining — Martinez sparkles on a perfect night
Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe
There was simply no way the Red Sox were going to lose last night. There was too much good karma in the 90-year-old hardball house. It was a night when the boys of the stardust summer of ’67 came back and stood on the Fenway lawn. … It was a night when the Sox radio flagship (WEEI) raised $300,000 for the Jimmy Fund … The weather was baseball perfect, there was even a good moon risin’ over the first base skyboxes, and baseball cognoscenti sent word of a thaw in the labor talks. … Oh, one more thing. It was a night when Pedro Martinez got the ball.
Red Sox Notes
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
Pedro Martinez improved to 8-1 with an 0.67 ERA in his 10 starts since July 1. He is 5-0 with an 0.25 ERA at Fenway over that stretch.
Angels Unable to Break Their Fall
Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times
The Angels lost to Pedro Martinez, and so what? Everyone loses to Pedro Martinez. As one game out of 162, no big deal. … It is disturbing enough that the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners have jumped ahead of the Angels in the American League West standings this week. Thanks to Martinez and his 4-1 victory Friday, his Boston Red Sox are close enough to the Angels in the wild-card standings that the Sox could jump ahead of the Angels by Sunday.
Martinez Aces Test Against Washburn
Diane Pucin, Los Angeles Times
The Angels needed Pedro Martinez Friday night. They got Jarrod Washburn. … But Washburn couldn’t make the Red Sox look as if they were batting during an earthquake. Martinez did that to the Angels. Martinez, with his fastball that moves seven ways, with his curveball that creates a parabola, with his roiling changeup, made it seem as if the Angels were standing on a rocking, rolling fault line instead of the batter’s box at Fenway Park.
Martinez, fan too much for Angels
Joe Haakenson, Los Angeles Daily News
The Boston Red Sox had a couple things going for them Friday night … First and foremost, the Red Sox had pitcher Pedro Martinez on the mound. … the Red Sox also got a boost from a fan who does a remarkable impersonation of Angels right fielder Orlando Palmeiro. The Red Sox had Rickey Henderson at first with nobody out in the fourth inning, when Nomar Garciaparra hit a popup to shallow right field just inside the foul line. Second baseman Adam Kennedy got there in time, but backed off at the last moment and let the ball fall. … “A fan said, ‘I got it, I got it,’ and I said, ‘That’s Orlando,'” Kennedy said. “He got me good. It was one guy whose voice stood out, and he got me. It’s funny now because the run didn’t score.”
Clutch failure — The Angels lose for the fourth time in six games, 4-1, to Boston
Cheryl Rosenberg Neubert, Orange County Register
The Angels continue to preach concentrating on the game at hand. It is an approach that has worked this season, as they already have matched their victory total from last season. But whether they admit to it or not, they are in a tight race and every game is big, every series crucial. They are playing in sold-out stadiums on their current trip in an atmosphere more October than August.
Once again, Varitek comes up big at plate
Marvin Pave, Boston Globe
First there was the stretch, goaltender-style, up the third base line. Then the sweep tag and the minor collision with Angels base runner Orlando Palmeiro. On the pivotal fourth-inning play, the only problem, said Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, was he wasn’t sure if the baseball was in his mitt. Home plate umpire Paul Schrieber knew it was, and gave the out sign after Varitek completed his mini-tumble.
Bunt single a first for Daubach
Mike Shalin, Boston Herald
Brian Daubach figured his 1,637th major league at-bat was as good a time as any for his first bunt single. Carlos Baerga and the rest of Daubach’s teammates figured such an occasion was a time to have some fun. “That bunt was awesome. … He looked like Ichiro,” Baerga said.
Pre-Game
Pedro pushed back
Ian Browne, mlb.com
The decision to hold Pedro Martinez Thursday night because of the uncertain weather forecast couldn’t have worked out any better for the Red Sox. Now they have their ace set to open the crucial Angels series Friday night. Martinez will also pitch against the Yankees at Fenway Park next Wednesday. “Today we had the ball in our court and we weighed the pros and the cons,” said Little. “The pros to do it outweighed the cons by far.”
Dustin checks in
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe
Pennant races can produce surprises, as everyone from the Rangers to the sellout crowd were reminded when the Sox yanked Pedro Martinez from his start and replaced him with newly activated Dustin Hermanson. The Sox made the last-minute switch, Little said, because of a rainstorm that was expected to descend on the Fens about an hour after the game started. Little said it made no sense to risk having Martinez pitch only a few innings before the rains came, then be unavailable until his next turn. … Little readily acknowledged, though, that he also was looking ahead to the three-game series that opens tonight at Fenway against the Angels, one of the chief contenders for a wild-card berth. Martinez (16-3), who will start the series opener against Anaheim’s Jarrod Washburn(15-4), fully supported the move.
Dustin’s return is rainproof
Jeff Horrigan, Boston Herald
Martinez defeated the Angels, 6-0, at Edison International Field on July 30 by allowing two hits in eight innings. He is 6-1 with a 1.39 ERA lifetime vs. Anaheim but he has to face Jarrod Washburn tonight. The Anaheim ace is 15-4 with a 3.24 ERA and his 2.56 road ERA is second best to only Martinez’ 1.66. Martinez is now lined up to face the New York Yankees in the second game of the final two series (Aug. 28 and Sept. 3) rather than the first games.
Hermanson proves able and willing
Shalise Manza Young, Providence Journal
Red Sox manager Grady Little … didn’t want to risk wasting a start from Martinez — not with the Angels, whom Boston is battling in the wild-card race, coming to town today. “We’re in no position to lose Pedro to an abbreviated game,” he said. “Another (reason for the switch) is the people we’re playing.” … During a meeting with Little around 3:30 yesterday, the manager gave him the news. “I was more than happy to step in. I would have pitched in a snowstorm tonight,” Hermanson said.
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