SAN DIEGO -- Pedro Martinez has always been able to pitch.
But when he wanted to, he could just gas up a few fastballs and buzz pitches right past Major League hitters, throwing subtlety to the wind in an in-your-face, high-bravado-quotient style.
Now, he's being a bit more careful about lighting up the radar gun in favor of a more varied array of pitches, with his cut fastball and changeup getting called a bit more.
Nevertheless, he's still a tough ace to beat, as the San Diego Padres found out last night at Qualcomm Stadium.
Martinez limited the Padres to two hits, fanning 11 in his 104-pitch, eight-inning outing as the Boston Red Sox conquered San Diego, 5-0. The three-time Cy Young Award winner retired the last 17 batters he faced.
The only hits he allowed were a two-out single up the middle by D'Angelo Jiminez in the second and an opposite-field single through the left side by Mark Kotsay with one out in the third. Kotsay was the Padres' final baserunner against Martinez and Chris Haney, who worked the final inning.
Along the way, Martinez fanned the side twice. He notched the 83rd double-digit strikeout game of his career, 56 of which have come for the Red Sox, including five this season.
"I can make adjustments," said Martinez with a satisfied smile on his face that has been missing since back-to-back rough outings in Toronto and Detroit on May 28 and June 3, respectively.
"I've always been a power pitcher, but I realize I can do both. If I have to sink the ball or change speeds, I can do that, too," said Martinez, whose fastball topped out at 95 miles an hour, sitting comfortably in the 91-93 range while he masterfully mixed in his other pitchers.
The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for Martinez, who improved his record to 8-2 while lowering his earned-run average to 2.92, including a league-best 1.76 E.R.A. on the road.
Martinez, who had gone four starts without a win, last tasted victory on May 23, though he did pitch well in losing pitching duels to Arizona and Atlanta in his previous two outings. He fell to Diamondbacks, 3-2, and was edged by the Braves, 2-1, done in both times more by a lack of offensive support than poor pitching.
Almost as importantly last night, the Red Sox won the rubber game of the three-game set here, bringing Boston's record to 3-3 on this nine-game interleague journey, with three games remaining in Los Angeles, beginning tonight.
As a result, the Red Sox were able to stretch their American League East lead to 1 1/2 games over the New York Yankees.
And even though Boston's offense wasn't exactly teeing off on the Padres' pitching last night, the Red Sox produced a pair of clutch two-out hits that produced their runs.
Johnny Damon, who has been hampered by a bruise on his left thumb, smoked a two-run triple to right-center, snapping a scoreless tie in the fifth, and Nomar Garciaparra crushed a run-scoring double in the seventh. A two-out walk to Martinez set the stage for key hit by Damon, who earlier had swiped the 200th base of his career.
Garciaparra put the game out of reach with a two-run triple to center in the ninth, nudging his team-leading RBI total to 55.
But the best part of the night was Martinez' postgame body language. It was clear that Martinez' confidence has returned as he spoke to the media while all around him the Sox scurried about their clubhouse, packing their gear to get ready for the bus ride up the coast.
"I'm getting better," said Martinez, who is bouncing back from last year's shoulder woes. "I'm feeling strong still. So far my arm has responded well. I have to maintain that and keep away from any bumps in the road. The last three games have been pretty good, even if I lost two of them. It's still a process, but I feel good at this time. That's all I can say."
His command of his pitches said a lot, too.
"That was probably the best stuff he's had all year," said catcher Jason Varitek. "It was comparable to numerous outings, but this is the first game in a while he's really had dominating stuff, and it showed."
"Pedro just keeps getting better and better with each start," said manager Grady Little. "He was on top of his game. His changeup early in the game was the best we've seen all year. The quality of his breaking pitch was as good as we've seen all year.
"When a pitcher has gone through what Pedro has been through, the quality of the breaking ball is the last thing to come around," said Little. "But Pedro's is sure coming around now."
