Martinez in line for victory; Mixed results in Phillies debut
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Martinez in line for victory; Mixed results in Phillies debut
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Pedro Martinez saw a little bit of everything in his first start as a Phillie: An eight-run inning from his offense, a no-out bases-loaded jam in his final inning, and a cup of ice thrown from the bleachers at Wrigley Field that struck his center fielder in his face.
All in all, it was an eventful debut, one that did little to foretell his eventual fate as a stretch-run starter.
Making his first major league start since Sept. 25, 2008, the future Hall of Famer allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out five while walking one in five innings of work. He left the game after allowing two runs in the fifth inning. At the time, the Phillies held a 12-3 lead, thanks to an eight-run fourth inning that included three-run home runs by Jimmy Rollins and Raul Ibanez.
Martinez threw 99 pitches, 54 of them for strikes. He struggled with his command at times, but showed better-than-advertised velocity and an effective change-up. Martinez's last pitch, a fastball on which Kosuke Fukodome flew out to left field, was clocked at 90 miles an hour. His velocity averaged between 88 and 91, but he hit 92 on the radar gun on several occasions.
The most bizarre event of the night occurred in the fifth inning, when Shane Victorino was struck in the head with a cup of ice as he caught a towering sacrifice fly from clean-up hitter Jake Fox. The cup appeared to be thrown from the stands, where Victorino and left fielder Raul Ibanez pointed and shouted at the culprit.
When he left the game, Martinez was in line for his first victory since Aug. 31 of last season, when he allowed two runs in six innings of a 6-2 win over the Marlins while pitching for the Mets.
if this happened in Philly it would be replayed thousands of times over the next 20 years- as it is now I saw it once in real time and once before Vic's interview and thats it. Want evidence of a media bias against Philly it's right here— finalsay665- PhillyPhan4for4, Pedro comes in throwing as good or better then Moyer after a year lay off...he's gonna get better. Not very much but better. Sorry but I trust him with the ball much more then Moyer. Pedro seems to have a lot more control and movement and Moyer just lobs balls into the stike zone. I'd say it's a win win, Pedro gets better and solidifies that 5th spot or he doesn't, Moyer comes back in and Pedro goes to the bullpen.— johnnyem
- He gave a Moyer-esque performance. Hopefully his next start will be better— RZA1217
- Good thing it was a lite-beer.:-)— Dragon13
- 4for4, you might prove correct. Pedro could remain a 5+ ERA pitcher. But I'll take 5 innings and 3 runs allowed from our 5th starter every time. Here's one thing you're not seeing: Except for his 6 starts against young, aggressive, less-disciplined teams (Florida, Arizona, Tampa), Moyer's ERA was 6.96. We only have one series against those teams over the next 6 weeks. We HAD to seek an upgrade... And Pedro's minor league numbers could prove irrelevant -- that was his spring training. He needed to build up his velocity, work on his pitches and his command. And while the attention paid to Pedro is disproportionate because of his celebrity, his velocity and movement are relevant because they provide him options as a pitcher that Moyer unfortunately lacks. If Pedro's ERA remains around 5, or lower, against the league's experienced teams, he's a significant upgrade. We'll know a lot more in two weeks...— PhilaLogic
- No payback, please. Charlie shouldn't have to apologize for losers in the stands. Let it go.— scotsman
- Oh... Pedro is ruining team chemistry?!? Do you know someone in the clubhouse? What indicates that? Please don't cite Moyer's disgruntled reaction: He said he was upset about being misled about his role, so a move to the bullpen to create a slot for ANY new starter would have prompted that reaction. I.e. Moyer is the one upsetting team chemistry, not Martinez.— PhilaLogic
- Media bias? finalsay665, you need to relax. Maybe Sutcliffe spent a bit too much time talking about "the friendly confines", but despite all the Pedro hoopla, ESPN found time to show it on both Sportscenter and Baseball Tonight. Not to mention all the replays right after it happened; how'd you miss those?— scotsman
- Conjecture will tell us that ALL CUBS FANS BEHAVE THIS WAY! I mean, in Philly we all know how violent and angry all Philly fans are. As evidenced by throwing snowballs at Santa Claus, batteries at professional athletes, even beating our own fans up. That's because if one fan behaves in this way it must mean all fans of that team behave the same way. Just like all Germans are Nazis. Surely, I jest. LETS GO PHILLIES!— Remember Tim Kerr
- 'equalityman', you are a moron if you are suggesting fans throw something at Cub players when they are at the Bank.— esesjay
- PHILLIES 12, Cubs 5. Beer, who cares.— mungman
- Whenever the Cubs come to Philly, Soriano better watch out. I don't agree with retaliation, but it will happen.— nrf000
- the cubs and their pathetic fans are lucky theres no more series at philly this season. im upset how espn and mlb just overlooks this incident.— broad
- I guess there are rude fans outside of Philly.— Disco Dave
- "The cup appeared to be thrown from the stands". Master of the obvious. sounds like a line from Conlin.— stoky
