BOSTON -- Pedro Martinez
sent word to the media yesterday that he was feeling fine the day after suffering his first loss of the year.
Team physician Bill Morgan
concurred that Martinez appears to be as healthy as any starting pitcher can be, given the fact that he makes his living using his arm to throw a baseball in an unnatural physical motion that puts strain on the shoulder.
Morgan also said Martinez was feeling a "pinch" in his shoulder, which was the source of a frayed rotator cuff that basically shut down the pitcher for almost four months a year ago.
But Morgan said Martinez was feeling normal post-start soreness yesterday and was not hurting "anywhere near where he was last season when we had to shut him down."
"He has a pinch in his shoulder, but it's nothing like last year and it's nothing out of the ordinary," said Morgan.
Morgan said that the "pinch" did not necessarily mean there is another problem with Martinez's rotator cuff. Morgan said that as far as Martinez's shoulder is concerned, "his strength is good, his motion is good."
Morgan said there has been no talk of Martinez missing a start to give him extra rest. His next start is expected to come Friday night in Atlanta in the first of nine road games that will also take the team to San Diego and Los Angeles.
Manager Grady Little said that he would prefer that Martinez not pitch if he gets selected to the All-Star team, "but we'll talk about that when it gets close to happening." Sanchez may go on DL
Rey Sanchez is likely to be put on the 15-day disabled list today with a hamstring problem. The second baseman, who first suffered a pull May 26, tried to come back, but was unable to finish any of the three games he started (June 1-3) because of tightness. The move would be back-dated to June 4, meaning Sanchez would be eligible to return to action June 19, when the Sox are in San Diego. Before the game, Little said he wouldn't necessarily need another infielder called up to replace Sanchez. He needs a hitter, possibly an outfielder, to bolster the bench because
Rickey Henderson still doesn't seem ready to return to action after bruising his lower back in New York. Varitek's streak ends
Catcher Jason Varitek
's streak of success at throwing out enemy baserunners was snapped yesterday when Tony Womack
swiped second base in the sixth inning. Varitek had gunned down three in a row before that. He now has thrown out 11 of 48 (23 percent) this year.
This close call was right
For the second day in a row, a close call went against the Red Sox.
Womack, racing home from second base on Craig Counsell
's two-out single to right, slid safely through Varitek, beating the throw from Trot Nixon
by a whisker. Little came out to discuss the call with plate umpire Gary Cederstrom,
but to no avail.
This time, TV replays backed up the umpire. The previous day, replays showed the Sox were victimized by second-base umpire Brian O'Nora
on a crucial forceout call on shortstop Nomar Garciaparra.
Spivey homer a rare one
Junior Spivey
's inside-the-park homer was the first at Fenway Park since Garciaparra's on July 26, 1998, off Toronto's Pat Hentgen.
It was the first by a member of the opposition here since Roberto Alomar,
playing for Toronto, hit one off Tony Fossas
on June 18, 1993.
Defensive gems abound
There were some defensive misplays yesterday, and there also were several gems.
Boston first baseman Tony Clark
stretched out his 6-foot-7 body with a dive to his right and smothered a grounder by Steve Finley,
robbing him of a single with a runner at second and two out in the fifth. Red Sox second baseman Lou Merloni
made an outstanding short-hop pickup of a smash hit by Mark Grace
in the sixth.
Counsell, Arizona's third baseman, made two soild plays. He went far to his left for a grounder hit by Garciaparra and threw out the shortstop in the fourth. And in the sixth, floating back into shallow left and battling the sun, Counsell made a back-stab of Brian Daubach
's bloop, sliding to the ground. He was almost stepped on by left fielder Luis Gonzalez
.
Banks survives Guillen liner
Sox right-hander Willie Banks
escaped injury when a liner off the bat of Carlos Guillen
drilled him in the rear end in the ninth inning. Banks got the ballnear the third-base line and easily threw out Guillen.
Banks waved off trainer Jim Rowe
before he had gotten three steps out of the Boston dugout and finished the inning without showing an ill effects, though not with perfect results. Banks was tagged for a solo homer by Erubiel Durazo,
the second homer he surrendered in his two-inning stint.
Around the horn
Merloni extended his hitting streak to a career-high seven games . . . Garciaparra went 2-for-4. He's now batting .484 (15-for-31) against Rick Helling. He is hitting .500 (10-for-20) in a five-game hitting streak . . . Daubach delivered a two-run double in the eighth, but is in a slump. He's batting only .147 (5-for-34) with 3 RBI over his last 10 games. Four of those hits, and five of his last six, have been for extra bases . . . The last time Boston lost three straight was last Sept. 27-29 . . . The last time the Sox were swept in three games at Fenway was last Aug. 31-Sept. 2, by the Yankees . . . Varitek has had at least three hits in seven games this year.
