Fresh Mangos: Pedro Goes Retro, Outduels Tim Lincecum in 2-1 Win

Admit it—you are rooting for Pedro Martinez to succeed in Philly, even just a little bit.

In his fifth start for Philadelphia since coming off the D.L. in August, Martinez transformed into the Big Petey Cool of old, outdueling San Francisco Giants ace Tim Lincecum Thursday night to give the Phils a 2-1 win.

Over seven innings, the 37-year-old allowed just five hits and one run while striking out nine—his most since his last start in a Mets uniform on September 25, 2008.

After the first pitch of the game—a solo homer by the immortal Eugenio Velez—Martinez was electric. His pitch total? A paltry 87. Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge finished everything up in a game which lasted just 2:08.

By the way, Lincecum was equally up to task, fanning 11 and walking one in his seven innings on the hill. Of the four hits he allowed, one was a solo homer to Jayson Werth while the other was an RBI double to Ryan Howard.

That’s the definition of a hard-luck loss for the 13-5 Lincecum, who has struck eight or more batters 19 times this season and has to be considered the front-runner for the NL Cy Young Award.

But Thursday was about Martinez, who is providing a huge boost for the Phillies as they look to extend their lead in the National League East. So far, Martinez is 3-0 with a 3.52 ERA in six starts. His control has been amazing, walking just three in 23 innings while striking out 23. In short, he has emerged as an important player for Philadelphia at the perfect time.

Of course, Boston fans know what Martinez brings to the table after seeing him here for seven seasons from 1998-2004, two of which were among the most dominant seasons in baseball history. But much like the exit of Manny Ramirez, some choose to remember the antics and posturing more than the actual player, sad considering the 117 wins he amassed and two championships he contributed to while here.

Good thing Pedro is giving everyone a refresher course on what they forgot. Perhaps there will be a return engagement here in October for the World Series.

Josh Nason is the main writer for Small White Ball, a New England-based sports and media blog that has contributed to Bleacher Report since 2008. Reach him via Twitter or josh [at] smallwhiteball [dot-com].

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