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Moriarty9 · 10-25-2009, 09:42 AM

Pedro was good until he wasn't
Strong outing ruined by disastrous sixth inning
June 20, 2010

PHILADELPHIA — Pedro Martinez was poised for an impressive win, but he hit a wall in the sixth inning, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays had to fight back to regain the lead and come away with a 9-7 win over the Phillies.

Martinez went into the bottom of the sixth inning with a 3-1 lead, but left it trailing 7-3.

"It was a tough inning, obviously, but fortunately we were able to bounce back and come away with a win," said Devil Rays manager Christian O'Neal. "We'll have to look at the numbers and re-evaluate where exactly Pedro is tending to get tired or get hit, and adjust from there."

Martinez opened the sixth inning by walking Marco Scutaro, which was followed by a game-tying home run by Nick Markakis. Despite the bump in the road, Martinez responded with a pop-up to second base and a strikeout of Cameron Maybin.

"To that point, I really wasn't concerned about Pedro at all out there," O'Neal said. "Walks happen here and there, and Markakis is a good hitter who can drive a ball out of the park at any time. So he made a mistake, Philly took advantage of it, and he came back and got the next two guys, striking out a good hitter. So, I wasn't even thinking about getting anyone up in the bullpen really."

After securing the second out of the inning, Martinez took on Brian Roberts. Roberts worked the count full before singling through the right side of the infield, putting the go-ahead run on base. Fernando Perez came to the plate and, after following off three straight two-strike pitches, hit a flyball that just barely got over the glove of jumping rightfielder Josh Hamilton for a two-run home run. Brandon Fahey followed with a single and Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer, the third such home run of the inning.

"It really happened pretty quick, and we got guys up in the bullpen, but they didn't have enough time to get loose, get warmed up," said O'Neal. "Home runs can cause damage really quickly and are not necessarily a good barometer for whether a guy is performing well, in my mind, because it can be one mistake that can do it."

Martinez finished the night with seven runs on eight hits and four walks in six innings. He avoided taking the loss as Tampa Bay picked up four runs in the seventh inning to tie the game, and two more in the eighth inning.

Hamilton hit a pair of solo home runs for the Devil Rays, bringing his season total to 15 with 54 RBI.

Ben Francisco had a big game for Tampa Bay, going 3-for-5 with a double and a three-run home run, scoring one run and driving in six.

Rick Ankiel worked 1 1/3 perfect innings in relief, helping to bridge the gap for closer Jonathan Papelbon and his 11th save of the year. Ankiel went 0-for-1 at the plate.

10-25-2009, 09:42 AM	#652 (permalink)
Moriarty9 All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 1,858 Thanks: 10 Thanked 3x in 3 posts	Pedro was good until he wasn't Strong outing ruined by disastrous sixth inning June 20, 2010 PHILADELPHIA — Pedro Martinez was poised for an impressive win, but he hit a wall in the sixth inning, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays had to fight back to regain the lead and come away with a 9-7 win over the Phillies. Martinez went into the bottom of the sixth inning with a 3-1 lead, but left it trailing 7-3. "It was a tough inning, obviously, but fortunately we were able to bounce back and come away with a win," said Devil Rays manager Christian O'Neal. "We'll have to look at the numbers and re-evaluate where exactly Pedro is tending to get tired or get hit, and adjust from there." Martinez opened the sixth inning by walking Marco Scutaro, which was followed by a game-tying home run by Nick Markakis. Despite the bump in the road, Martinez responded with a pop-up to second base and a strikeout of Cameron Maybin. "To that point, I really wasn't concerned about Pedro at all out there," O'Neal said. "Walks happen here and there, and Markakis is a good hitter who can drive a ball out of the park at any time. So he made a mistake, Philly took advantage of it, and he came back and got the next two guys, striking out a good hitter. So, I wasn't even thinking about getting anyone up in the bullpen really." After securing the second out of the inning, Martinez took on Brian Roberts. Roberts worked the count full before singling through the right side of the infield, putting the go-ahead run on base. Fernando Perez came to the plate and, after following off three straight two-strike pitches, hit a flyball that just barely got over the glove of jumping rightfielder Josh Hamilton for a two-run home run. Brandon Fahey followed with a single and Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer, the third such home run of the inning. "It really happened pretty quick, and we got guys up in the bullpen, but they didn't have enough time to get loose, get warmed up," said O'Neal. "Home runs can cause damage really quickly and are not necessarily a good barometer for whether a guy is performing well, in my mind, because it can be one mistake that can do it." Martinez finished the night with seven runs on eight hits and four walks in six innings. He avoided taking the loss as Tampa Bay picked up four runs in the seventh inning to tie the game, and two more in the eighth inning. Hamilton hit a pair of solo home runs for the Devil Rays, bringing his season total to 15 with 54 RBI. Ben Francisco had a big game for Tampa Bay, going 3-for-5 with a double and a three-run home run, scoring one run and driving in six. Rick Ankiel worked 1 1/3 perfect innings in relief, helping to bridge the gap for closer Jonathan Papelbon and his 11th save of the year. Ankiel went 0-for-1 at the plate.