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Martinez wins season debut as Mets top Reds

Sep 3, 2007 - 10:17 PM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Pedro Martinez didn't dominate in his return to the New York Mets. But it was good enough.

Martinez battled through five innings and David Wright belted a two-run home run as the Mets posted a 10-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a three-game series on Monday afternoon.

Moises Alou and Carlos Delgado each hit solo home runs for New York (77-60), which holds a five-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies (72-65) in the National League East.

It was the fourth straight win for the Mets, who were swept by the Phillies last week.

A three-time Cy Young Award winner, Martinez (1-0) made his first start since having rotator cuff surgery on October 5, 2006. He threw six scoreless innings for Class A St. Lucie in his last rehab start on Sunday.

"Indescribable. So far, so good." Martinez said. "It was good enough. I did what I was supposed to do. I got 75 pitches in. I gave my team an opportunity.

"I felt I settled down after the first inning and got everything in control again. I had a couple of situations where I was forced to make pitches, and I didn't want to make."

Relying more on guile and expertise than overpowering pitches, he struck out Scott Hatteberg and Aaron Harang in the second inning to become the 15th pitcher in major league history to record 3,000 strikeout.

"He didn't look like he had his old stuff, and I wouldn't expect him to," Hatteberg said. "He has a long way to go to get back to his old stuff. I've faced him. I've caught him. I know him pretty well.

"He had just electric stuff with 94 (miles-per-hour) fastballs and sharp breaking curves. He may get there, but isn't close now. But it's obvious he knows how to pitch. He had command. He changed speeds, he worked the counts and kept the ball on the corner all the time."

Martinez agreed.

"I'll probably pick up velocity along the way," Martinez said.

New York, which has seen its lead in the NL East dwindle in the season's second half, hoped to receive a late-season boost from Martinez. While he was not dominant on Monday, Martinez kept his team in the game.

"Well, you can't ask for anything better than that," New York manager Willie Randolph said. "He's amazing. I shouldn't even be surprised, really. Pedro was superb. It was one start. We're going to enjoy this one here.

"We'll see how he feels (Tuesday). I'm sure he's going to be sore. We'll continue to monitor him. But today, he was good. He'll be in our rotation. Whether he's No. 5 or 6, we'll play it by ear."

"I thought I would (be nervous), but I wasn't really," Martinez said. "I feel really humble that I'm back here. There were so many days of hard work. There are so many people that I'd like to thank that, if I started now, I couldn't finish."

Josh Hamilton, who was facing Martinez for the first time, marveled at how the veteran hurler was under control.

"Obviously he's a totally different pitcher. I was talking to Carlos Delgado on first base and he said that Pedro feels pretty good but said I should have seen him when he was able to throw harder," Hamilton said. "He could put the ball where he wanted to. He looked like he had confidence.

"He wasn't afraid to throw his changeup in any count. He is the first pitcher I ever faced that kept his eyes on the plate the entire time. He looked at the plate from the time he took the sign, all through his windup. He never looked away like most pitchers do."

The 35-year-old righthander allowed three runs and five hits while striking out four and walking three in five innings - leaving after 76 pitches. He topped out at 89 miles per hour with his fastball and seemed to rely on his breaking pitch to throw strikes.

"Pedro didn't have his his best stuff but he had a lot of late movement," Cincinnati manager Pete Mackanin said. "He changed speeds. He snuck some fastballs right by guys because they had to watch his soft stuff. He knows what he's doing."

Scott Schoeneweis, Pedro Feliciano, Guillermo Mota and Aaron Sele each tossed an inning to close out the game.

But it was a rude opening frame for Martinez, who yielded two runs quickly.

After a single by Hamilton and Alex Gonzalez's double, Ken Griffey Jr. opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly, which sent Gonzalez to third. Brandon Phillips then ripped an RBI single to make it 2-0.

Alou cut the Mets' deficit in half with a solo homer in the second against Harang. After a one-out walk to Luis Castillo in the third, Wright smacked a two-run blast to make it 3-2.

Paul Lo Duca gave the Mets a two-run advantage with a sacrifice fly in the fourth.

In the bottom of the frame, Cincinnati took advantage of sloppy play by New York center fielder Carlos Beltran to make it 4-3. Scott Hatteberg singled Adam Dunn to second, and Dunn eventually scored on Beltran's wild toss to third base, which hopped into the stands.

But the Mets tacked on six more runs in the final four frames.

Shawn Green and Ruben Gotay had RBI hits in the sixth. One inning later, Beltran stroked an RBI single and scored on Green's groundout to second three batters later.

Castillo stroked an RBI double in the eighth to make it 9-3, and Delgado belted his 22nd homer in the ninth to give New York a seven-run advantage.

Harang (14-4) was roughed up, yielding six runs and 10 hits. He struck out six and walked one for Reds, who have lost four straight.