Martinez Is Back; Dodgers Know It : Baseball: Right-hander holds Pittsburgh hitless for 6 1/3 innings. Seanez, Worrell preserve one-hitter.

It might not have been the no-hitter that was clamored for Monday night, but when it was over, the crowd soon realized it had just seen the unveiling of Dodger starter Ramon Martinez.

Martinez, who four years ago was considered one of the league’s most dominant pitchers before disappearing into mediocrity, let the world know he is back, leading the Dodgers to a 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Martinez captivated 35,691 at Dodger Stadium by pitching a no-hitter for 6 1/3 innings, and permitted just one hit during his seven-inning, 106-pitch stint. He struck out five.

The Pirates, in fact, were not able to get another hit the rest of the game off relievers Rudy Seanez and Todd Worrell, giving the Dodger staff its first one-hitter since July 21, 1990.

“This is the best I’ve ever seen [Martinez],” said teammate Tom Candiotti. “He’s unbelievable right now. He just dominates hitters.

“What can you say, with Orel [Hershiser] and Kevin [Gross] gone, he’s our ace.”

It was vintage Martinez. He blew his fastball past the Pirates. He kept them off-balance with his changeup. He fooled them with his curveball.

If it wasn’t for Jeff King’s hit to the left of third baseman Dave Hansen in the seventh, perhaps he would have had the Dodgers’ first no-hitter since Kevin Gross’ in 1992.

Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda said he wasn’t going to be the one pulling Martinez out of a no-hitter, and he didn’t expect Martinez to volunteer.

“I wouldn’t come out of a no-hitter,” Lasorda said, “if God told me to.”

Martinez began anticipating a no-hitter in the sixth inning, but it hardly mattered. The way he has been pitching this season, the record book can wait. Right now, he’s too busy being the ace of the Dodger staff.

Martinez already has won four games this season, his best start since 1991, and with a 4-1 record and 1.97 earned-run average there’s no question who’s the most feared pitcher on the staff.

After all, the rest of the Dodger starting rotation has combined for one victory.

“You can really see the difference in him now,” Candiotti said. “When he was pitching the last couple of years, you could tell that his arm was hurting him. Instead of challenging hitters, he was trying to nit-pick.

“It was a sign where he didn’t always believe in himself.”

Indeed, after winning 20 games his first full season in 1990, and 17 games in 1991, Martinez wasn’t the same. He won only eight games in 1992, 10 the next year, and folks began wondering if he would ever again be the same Ramon Martinez who dominated the league.

Well, a funny thing then happened last May. Martinez’s arm began to bounce back. His fastball regained its zip, his curveballs started breaking with snap, and he junked his slider. He wound up with 12 victories in the strike-shortened season, but more important, he knew that he was back.

“In ‘90, I was just throwing fastballs,” Martinez said, “trying to throw the ball past everybody. Now, I’m not going out there and just throwing the ball. I’m making my pitches.”

Said Candiotti: “I think because he has the arm problems, it made him more of a pitcher. Now, he has the power and the finesse. He’s exuding that confidence right now.

“So what you’re seeing is a more dominant pitcher now than ever before.”

The Dodgers (10-8) provided all of the offense Martinez would need in the first inning with Raul Mondesi’s three-run home run off Pirate starter Paul Wagner.

Delino DeShields opened the game with a single to left, and stole second. Jose Offerman walked. Mondesi then stepped up and hit a homer into the left-field seats, his seventh. The Dodgers had a 3-0 lead, and the only remaining suspense was Martinez’s possible no-hitter.

“I was thinking about [the no-hitter] a little in the fifth and sixth innings,” said Martinez, whose groin began bothering him while fielding Carlos Garcia’s swinging bunt in the fifth inning. “But the sixth inning, my leg started bothering me a little bit.”