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Strong start by Martinez highlights win for Mets

Aug 17, 2008 - 4:09 AM By Chris Adamski PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- This time, Pedro Martinez and the New York Mets' offense built a lead against the Pittsburgh Pirates big enough for the team's beleaguered bullpen to hold in the ninth inning.

Five days after costing Martinez a win by blowing a four-run lead against Pittsburgh, the Mets won their fifth in a row by riding a solid outing from the righthander to a 7-4 victory over the Pirates on Saturday.

On Monday at Shea Stadium, the Pirates scored three times in the ninth to turn a 5-4 deficit into a 7-5 win. In this one, the Mets' bullpen again allowed three ninth-inning runs, but it still was able to hang on.

"I feel real good about our starting pitching. We just have got to close games out," New York manager Jerry Manuel said. "We've got to get to the end of the game."

Martinez (4-3) won for the first time since July 7, as New York had lost his previous three outings. The veteran worked seven innings, allowing only one run, eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

"I felt pretty good. I had good command of my pitches," said Martinez, who spent most of the first two months of the season on the disabled list. "It's starting to come along. The last two outings, I have been making adjustments to get where I want to be."

"Pedro was outstanding tonight," Manuel said. "He pitched an outstanding game. He moved the ball back and forth and kept them off-balance, threw a minimum of pitches. He pitched extremely well for us. It was a good effort."

Jose Reyes and Ramon Castro each homered and drove in two runs for the Mets (67-56), who moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the

Philadelphia Phillies (65-57) in the National League East Division. The Phillies are visiting the San Diego Padres.

"We had that tough loss on Monday against Pittsburgh, but we put that one in the past," Reyes said. "Since then, we've been able to score runs early."

Andy LaRoche hit his first home run at PNC Park as a Pirate and Jack Wilson went 3-for-4 with an RBI for Pittsburgh, which has lost four of five.

The Pirates made things interesting in the ninth against against Eddie Kunz and Joe Smith.

Brandon Moss singled and Steve Pearce was hit by a pitch before Wilson delivered an RBI double. Pearce then scored on a wild pitch before McLouth singled in Wilson.

Smith relieved Kunz and yielded a single by Freddy Sanchez, but Pedro Feliciano came on to record the final two outs for his second save.

Reyes led off the game with a home run for the 12th time in his career, belting a 3-2 pitch from Zach Duke over the wall in left-center field for his 13th blast of the season.

New York added two more runs in the first as Carlos Beltran delivered an RBI double and scored on Fernando Tatis' single.

"We got down big early, and it's a tough chore to come back against these guys," Pittsburgh manager John Russell said. "We had opportunities, but it was a big hole we dug early."

Reyes drove in another run with a two-out triple in the second and Castro added a two-run blast to left-center in the sixth for his seventh home run of the season.

Duke (4-11) lost his seventh consecutive decision, allowing six runs and nine hits in six innings with two strikeouts. He has not won since June 9.

"It was a tough first inning," Duke said. "I left a fastball up and (Reyes) made me pay for it. I got into a little rhythm there through the fifth, but then it got away again."