BALTIMORE -- Never mind that the temperature struggled to hit 50 degrees here, and that players were huddled in the dugout to ward off the chill. As each pitch from Pedro Martinez zipped across the plate with typical precision and explosiveness yesterday, it was as if the New England winter was ebbing away.
Slowly but surely, Martinez emerged from his uncertain hibernation. Gone was the tentativeness he had displayed most of the spring and again last Monday in the season opener against Toronto. Gone, too, were the various arm angles, the uneven mechanics and the inconsistent spotting of pitches.
In their place was a reasonable approximation, at least in spurts, of vintage Martinez.
"The command of his pitches gets better every time he pitches," said manager Grady Little after Martinez checked the Baltimore Orioles on one run over six innings in a 4-1 victory, sealing a weekend sweep. "He was much more consistent. There was no variety in his delivery."
Since his disastrous start on Opening Day, Martinez spent more time in front of the video screen than Roger Ebert and discovered a hitch in his mechanics. Emboldened by a bigger, stronger upper body, Martinez had neglected to use his legs, which accounted for the inconsistency. Yesterday, his right leg whipped around the way it did from 1997-2000, when he won 77 percent of his decisions and established himself as the best right-handed pitcher in baseball.
"I believe I made the right adjustments," said Martinez, who allowed three hits while striking out five to earn his first win since May 30. "I feel like I was more consistent. (I improved) the quality of my pitches and the use of my legs. I made some quality pitches and I also got ahead in the count."
"I don't think everything is quite there yet. I just have to continue working on my repertoire. I'm not going to sit back and relax because of one outing. But I feel more comfortable."
Martinez retired the feeble O's in order in the first, then allowed a hard-hit, two-out double to right-center by Jay Gibbons in the second. But with a runner in scoring position, he overpowered Melvin Mora.
In the fourth, Jeff Conine doubled to left with one out and, after Tony Batista popped out, Jay Gibbons reached on a slow roller hit between Martinez and third baseman Shea Hillenbrand. Hillenbrand didn't have a good grip on the ball as hurried his throw to first.
As Tony Clark bobbled the throw, Batista reached and Gibbons kept coming from third, sliding in ahead of Clark's throw to catcher Jason Varitek. It would be the last baserunner against Martinez, who finished by retiring the last seven hitters he faced. Of those seven, only one got the ball out of the infield.
"He looked more comfortable," said Varitek. "The rotation on his pitches was tighter. What that does is give a late break to his breaking ball and an extra five feet to his fastball. It's got that extra little bit of carry. He executed his pitches better. He made a lot of quality pitches and if a pitcher makes quality pitches, the hitters are going to go sit down."
While Martinez was slicing and dicing his way through an overmatched Baltimore lineup, Hillenbrand was providing the necessary support at the plate.
After Manny Ramirez walked to open the second, Hillenbrand jumped on a changeup from Calvin Maduro and drove it into the left-field seats for a 2-0 advantage. Two innings later, with Clark aboard after blasting a long double that nearly cleared the wall in center, Hillenbrand got another changeup and hit it out to left again.
It was Hillenbrand's first two-homer game as a professional.
"I'm just trying to keep a consistent approach at the plate," the third baseman said, "and stay with my game plan. A lot of times last year, I got away from that. I was overwhelmed (as a rookie). This year, I'm letting things happen and I feel much more comfortable."
Winners of three straight on their first road trip of the season, the Red Sox have a comfort level of their own. On their weekend stay, all aspects of their game seemed to come together as they meshed peerless starting pitching (one earned run in three games), air-tight defense and a powerful attack which produced five homers.
But nothing was more comforting that the sight of their ace regaining his form.
"This whole year is going to be a process where I see how my body is going to react," warned Martinez, "because I've never been in this situation before. I hope I can forget about everything soon and be Pedro, the one I was before."
That would suit the Red Sox, if not the rest of the league, just fine.
