09:08 AM EDT on Monday, April 26, 2004

AP photo More than one Red Sox fan was happy that Boston gave the Yankees the brush-off this weekend in the Bronx. Mike Sage of Clifton, N.J., had a sign of things to come yesterday.

NEW YORK -- The weather was lousy, and the minute he popped out of the dugout to take the mound in the bottom of the first inning, so was the reception from the Bronx Welcome Wagon.

None of it mattered to Pedro Martinez. He knew what he was in for, and you got the feeling, after an inning or two, that the New York Yankees did, too.

If that wasn't vintage Pedro, it was plenty good enough. Seven innings, four hits, no runs and no chance. No chance for the Yankees, that is. Not the way they've been hitting, and not the way Martinez pitched yesterday.

Backed only by a two-run homer from Manny Ramirez, Martinez tossed seven shutout innings. There was little margin for error, so he didn't make one. In half of his seven innings, he didn't allow a New York baserunner.

"He pitched," said catcher Jason Varitek of his batterytmate, emphasizing the last word for emphasis.

Martinez threw all four of his pitches, and threw them with precision. The feel that had been missing from his curveball and change has been found, as if he had somehow misplaced it in a kitchen drawer.

The timing couldn't have been better. The Red Sox were going for a sweep of the Yankees yesterday, and they were doing it with

a depleted bullpen. Every one of their four most reliable relievers had done duty in the 12-inning marathon had been used Saturday, so it was incumbent upon Martinez to lug the Red Sox deep into the game.

"It was up to me today to step up and give them a chance to win," Martinez said through a club spokesman.

Throughout the Red Sox clubhouse, there was practically a campaign underway to not gloat over their third straight win over the Yankees and sixth in seven tries this season. The Sox fully understand that there's still more than five months of baseball left to play, and eventually, probably soon, the Yankees will begin playing better than this.

Varitek, ever the diplomat, pointed out that the rest of the American League East is improved, and that every win -- regardless of opponent -- is important.

But Martinez understands that the Yankees are different. Games aren't weighted and each one counts the same in the standings. But there's an undeniably special value that comes from beating the Yankees, and when those wins come at Yankee Stadium, they're more important still.

And then there's the history, of which Martinez has been no small part. Before yesterday, the Sox had won just four of the last 13 games -- regular season and playoffs -- that Martinez had started against New York. In many of those, the Yanks had expertly driven his pitch count up, then found a way to beat the Boston bullpen or win a close, low-scoring game.

Martinez knew all of that and he welcomed the challenge.

"There's no doubt these are the people we've been behind," Martinez said in his statement, "so it's nice to take advantage of the opportunities against them."

Martinez established an edge early. He set the big names down in order in the first -- Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams and Alex Rodriguez -- and dropped a called third strike past Jason Giambi to open the second.

But that was merely the tuneup.

"A couple of innings into it," said Terry Francona, "he really got sharp. He looked good, but especially after a couple of innings. It took a little while, but once he got going, that was impressive."

There was a one-out single by Gary Sheffield in the second, but Sheffield never moved as Martinez got Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui on pop-ups. Following a one-two-three third, Rodriguez singled with one in the fourth, then stole second. He, too, was marooned on base.

The best Yankee threat came in the fifth with a walk to Jorge Posada -- the lone walk issued -- and a one-out double into the right field corner by Ruben Sierra.

But with two runners in scoring position, Martinez got longtime nemesis Enrique Wilson to pop to short, then fanned the slumping Jeter, hitless in his last 25 at-bats.

"He was (throwing) strike one," said Varitek, "and you can do a lot of things when you do that."

Varitek talked some more about Pedro's improved command of his breaking pitches and off-speed stuff, and his ability to block out distractions. But past all the technical talk, beyond the analysis, he arrived at the most salient point of all.

"You've got to believe in the man," Varitek said. "The man knows what to do. He believes in himself, and that's half the battle. I believe in Pedro -- period. He's human. He'll have (some) tough starts. But he'll also have some great ones. And history shows he's going to have more great starts than tough ones."

Like yesterday, just when the Red Sox needed him most.