Pedro Martinez, Boston Red Sox, May 28, 2002 v. Toronto Blue Jays

pedro martinez
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After A Rough Beginning, Pedro Battles For 6 Innings Escobar Walks Home Two In 9th And Red Sox Win 6-4

Tuesday, May 28, 2002
Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays
Skydome, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Pedro’s Line

Box Score and play-by-play

Slow start, fast finish for Boston
Mike Petraglia, mlb.com

When Pedro Martinez left Tuesday’s game, the Red Sox trailed 4-2 and the Boston ace was in line to lose his first game of 2002. But the Red Sox again showed why they are a different team from 2001. Boston finished off its comeback from a four-run deficit with two runs in the seventh to tie the game and two more in the ninth to record a 6-4 win over the Blue Jays at SkyDome, remaining perfect in four tries this year in Toronto. …

“It was just a bad day at the office at the start,” quipped Martinez, who received a no-decision for his efforts and remains a perfect 7-0 on the season. “Everything else went back to normal after that. I actually feel fine now. I hope I feel the same way (Wednesday). … I wasn’t responding well and they took advantage of it. The first two innings, my arm didn’t feel all that well. My arm wasn’t responding well the first two innings but I felt myself getting better as I kept throwing the ball. … I think everything just came all together as I kept pitching and facing more batters.”

Red Sox bounce Blue Jays
Spencer Fordin, mlb.com

The Blue Jays dropped a tough game on Tuesday night as the Red Sox to scored six straight runs en route to a 6-4 decision. Toronto owned the advantage for most of the game, from the first inning to the seventh, but allowed two decisive runs in the top of the ninth. … Kelvim Escobar allowed two hits and three walks in the final frame, allowing the Red Sox to take their first lead of the game.

Sox win a pick-up game
Bob Hohler, Boston Globe 

Some things are predictable, like the scalper outside SkyDome last night reduced to selling tickets for the Blue Jays game against the Red Sox at less than face value while he was pocketing $1,700 a pair for the nearby playoff contest between the city’s beloved Maple Leafs and the Hurricanes. Other things are harder to figure, like Pedro Martinez doing a cameo impersonation of a latter-day Darren Oliver as he dug the Sox a 4-0 hole after two innings and put himself in serious danger of losing his first game in 11 starts.

Victory for Sox a walk in park — Two bases on balls with three runners on cap a ninth-inning rally
Sean McAdam, Providence Journal 

Before the third out could be recorded, Casey Fossum was up in the bullpen. In the third inning, it was Sun Woo Kim’s turn to begin throwing. What looked like an absurd mismatch on paper — arguably the game’s best pitcher, pitted against someone making his first major league start — had gone horribly wrong for the Red Sox. But neither Pedro Martinez nor the rest of the Red Sox panicked. Eventually, Martinez found his groove, and once their ace reached equilibrium, the Sox began to take off.

Picking Up Pedro — Down 4-0, Red Sox Rally
David Heuschkel, Hartford Courant

Not even the magnificent Pedro Martinez could pry these hockey-mad folks from their televisions Tuesday night. North of the border, Pedro is no Cujo. … “Pedro assured me that his arm was OK,” Red Sox manager Grady Little said. Red Sox fans can breathe easy. “Just a bad day at the office,” Martinez said.

Sox walk all over Jays
Bill Ballou, Worcester Telegram & Gazette

There are no unlikely scenarios any more for Red Sox victories. They win on opposing errors. They blow leads, then come back and win. They win when they hit homers, they win when they don’t. They win on bases loaded walks, like last night, and they win when their best pitcher doesn’t have his best stuff. Again, like last night.

Jays fall apart
Mike Rutsey, Toronto Sun

Kelvim Escobar has expanded his repertoire. Not only does he have trouble closing games, the Blue Jays reliever now has trouble holding them.

Wild Escobar walks Sox to victory
Allan Ryan, Toronto Star

For a while there at SkyDome last night, the Blue Jays might’ve wondered what the rest of the league saw in this Pedro Martinez fellow. Just for a while, though. Martinez, down 4-0 in a hurry, wound up good enough, his bullpen even better, as the Boston Red Sox won it 6-4 on a pair of bases-loaded walks by Kelvim Escobar in the ninth.

Red Sox battle back to bail out Martinez
Jeff Blair, Globe and Mail

There were storm warnings all over the area last night. Down the street at the Air Canada Centre, the Carolina Hurricanes were in the process of eliminating the Toronto Maple Leafs from Stanley Cup contention. But in front of a paid crowd of 13,075 at the SkyDome, Boston Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez had an inkling early that on this night, he would be hard-pressed to continue cutting his swath of destruction through the American League.

Heavy weight, but Martinez fights
Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe 

When he played long-toss Monday, he said to himself, ”Wow, my arm still feels heavy.” It was the heaviness a pitcher feels after he’s just pitched. But this was a few days later. When he went to warm up before last night’s game, Pedro Martinez still felt the ”heavy arm. … Personally, I was scared a little bit when I didn’t feel the strength. When it came back, I felt a lot of relief.” …

In two starts vs. Toronto this season, Martinez has surrendered 16 hits and 11 earned runs in nine innings. ”They all have my number,” said Martinez. ”They all seem to feel good hitting against me. Toronto is one of the luckiest teams at getting me off my game. They could tell I wasn’t feeling fine.”

Ace’s poor start didn’t hurt
Steve Buckley, Boston Herald

If recent history has taught us anything about Pedro Martinez, it is this: When the Dominican Dandy struggles, it’s time to slide him into the ol’ MRI machine to find out how badly he’s hurt. … It might surprise you to know that Martinez went on record last night with the opinion that this was his best outing of the season. … “You know how difficult it is to plow through a game like this? You have to have pitched to know what I’m talking about.”

Sox walk past Jays
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald

A shaky start by Pedro Martinez was no match for a shakier finish by Toronto closer Kelvim Escobar, who walked in two runs in the ninth inning to grant the Red Sox a 6-4 victory at SkyDome. … After the game, Martinez called his return to form “probably the biggest game of the year for me. “I’m really pleased with the way everything went in the end, but I am more satisfied that I wasn’t hurt. At first I was scared, when my arm felt like that, but when I kept coming back, I felt a lot of relief.”

Blue Jays let one get away
Spencer Fordin, mlb.com

The Blue Jays went with an inventive approach to pitching on Tuesday night, inverting their normal order of arms. Pete Walker made his first Major League start, then handed the ball to three former starters. The end result was a 6-4 loss to the Red Sox, but the experiment was still a success.

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