BOSTON -- After today, the first half of the season will have been completed, as good a time as any to assess where the Red Sox stand. But forget the standings, or the team's record.
The most important measuring stick for the Red Sox is that, as the All-Star break arrives, Pedro Martinez is healthy, a refreshing change from past seasons.
Historically, Martinez has broken down -- or least, shown signs of wear and tear -- at the season's mid point. But yesterday, Martinez won his 11th game and declared himself stronger than at any time in recent memory.
"I feel good," Martinez said after the Red Sox had blanked the Detroit Tigers, 8-0. "I actually felt better this year than I did in 1999 or 2000, at this point in the season. I feel normal, natural."
That much has been evident since June 14. Since then, he's 4-1 with an ERA of 1.50. In three of his last four starts, Martinez hasn't allowed a run, earned or otherwise. In that span, he's struck out 42 while walking 3.
"I think we can look at Pedro's season as a whole and see that it has been on a steady progress," said manager Grady Little. "The graph continues to go upward and we're at a point where normally he starts struggling with his health a little bit (but) we're still on that chart moving upward. And that's what we like."
Yesterday's victory was the fourth in the last four starts for Martinez, his longest such streak since last May, and it was the third time this year that he allowed just a single hit in an outing.
Just as significantly, Martinez is 8-1 in 9 starts in which he's pitched following a Red Sox loss this season.
Thanks to a five-run first inning and two more runs in the fourth -- all of them charged to onetime Red Sox pitching prospect Mike Maroth -- the Sox had the luxury of pulling Martinez after just five innings and 87 pitches.
"It gave me exactly what the doctor ordered," Martinez said. "Five (early runs), then go throw strikes and the rest just flew by. It was the perfect opportunity to give me one outing which was a little shorter and let me rest a little bit."
Said Little: "We're just doing maintenance on him. "today was the day for that and we took advantage of that for him. He came out of there with a win and five strong innings. What more can you ask?"
Not much, particularly given the uncertainty surrounding Martinez in spring training, when he was uncertain how his shoulder would respond after the discovery of a small tear in the rotator cuff last summer, or the intense work he performed over the winter to strengthen himself.
"I'm actually getting what I worked for," Martinez said. "I'm getting the same answer that I wanted to get at the time I went over to do the rehab and the way I'm feeling right now is exactly how I wanted to feel."
Martinez didn't throw a single pitch over 93 mph yesterday, but he kept the Tigers handcuffed by a steady succession of curves and changeups.
"We kind of pitched backward today," said catcher Jason Varitek.
Martinez, who declined his All-Star game selection, will head home to the Dominican Republic for a few days and "sit around and chill." When he returns, the Sox won't pitch him until Sunday, the final game of their opening series of the second half.
That will give him seven days off between starts, an additional insurance policy against placing too many demands on his invaluable right shoulder and a suitable reward for a first half completed at full strength.
The Sox spread the offense around, with Nomar Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez providing run-scoring hits in the first, followed by a three-run homer by Doug Mirabelli, the surprise choice at DH yesterday.
"Mirabelli's the kind of guy who can put a lot of runs on the board with one swing," Little said. "He's shown us that against left-handed pitching, especially this year."
Mirabelli is 9-for-21 with three homers and eight RBI against lefties this year.
Trot Nixon then opened the fourth with a solo homer, and Jose Offerman scored the second run from third after a pitch got away from catcher Robert Fick. Nixon scored the final run in the sixth when he walked, took second on a single by Lou Merloni and scored on a fielder's choice by Johnny Damon.
