LA DODGES PEDRO'S BULLETS
Boys from Chavez Ravine take 2-0 lead in Series
October 28, 2002
Pedro Martinez just wasn't himself last night. And as a result, the Boston Red Sox have fallen into a 2-0 hole in the 2002 World Series.
One night after watching big brother Ramon Martinez pitch a gem for the rival Dodgers, Pedro Martinez got knocked around a bit in a 5-1 Los Angeles victory. Pedro gave up four runs, including a two-run bomb by Albert Pujols in the fourth inning.
For the second night in a row Boston couldn't keep an early 1-0 lead. LA scored twice in the second and twice more in the fourth on Pujols' long ball. Pujols finished with three hits on the night and four RBIs. LA added an insurance run in the eighth inning to match the final score from Game One.
Hipolito Pichardo earned the win for the Dodgers, pitching seven strong innings. He gave up a solo home run to Paul Konerko in the second, then went on to allow only five more hits the rest of the night. He struck out two with no walks. Trevor Hoffman earned his fifth save of the post-season, though he walked three Sox.
"Truth be told, Pedro wasn't 100 percent going into the game," Sox manager Grady Little said. "He was more like 85 to 90 percent because of that shoulder soreness that has dogged him all post-season. Against the Dodgers these days you've got to be 110 percent. Pedro gave his all but it just wasn't meant to be tonight.
"We're just glad to be getting back to Fenway for Game Three. We need some home cookin'."
Los Angeles still hasn't lost in the post-season and is currently riding a 10-game winning streak dating to the end of the regular season.
The Dodgers plan to throw Dan Smith in Game Three on Oct. 29. He'll face Red Sox pitcher Tony McKnight. If LA wins Game Three, manager Jim Tracy has indicated he'll use 7-foot-2 left-hander Andrew Zarzour as the starter in Game Four, returning with Ramon Martinez in Game Five, if necessary, and Hipolito Pichardo in Game Six.