Martinez Gets the Job Done for Dodgers : Baseball: Pitcher’s six-hitter in 8-2 victory over Pirates is the latest exploit in obscure season.

He might be having the greatest year no one ever heard of in Los Angeles.

Sure, folks know all about Hideo Nomo and Ismael Valdes. Mike Piazza and Eric Karros have become household names. Chad Fonville is a hero with his hustle.

Oh, and Dodger starter Ramon Martinez?

He only happened to win again Friday night, pitching a six-hitter in the Dodgers’ 8-2 laugher over the Pittsburgh Pirates, subtly reminding the paid crowd of 10,050 at Three Rivers Stadium that he is the ace of the Dodger pitching staff.

“He has some of the best stuff in the league when he’s on the mound,” Pirate left fielder Al Martin said, “but tonight . . . my God.”

Take a hard look, and you’ll discover there are few pitchers in the National League having finer seasons. The only pitcher with more victories than Martinez (15-7) is Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves. The only pitcher who has thrown more innings than Martinez (186 1/3) is Maddux. And Martinez is tied for third in the league with two shutouts and five complete games.

The Pirates will attest that certainly no one has been more dominant against them. Martinez is 3-0 with a 1.19 earned-run average, and only Carlos Garcia’s two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning spoiled his shutout.

Martinez has been uncanny this second half, and with the exception of the Colorado Rockies, no team has beaten him since June 27. Martinez is 8-1 with a 2.30 ERA in his last 13 starts, and the Dodgers have won 10 of those games.

The Dodgers (65-59) hate to envision where they’d be without Martinez, but with only 20 games remaining, they are tied with the Colorado Rockies for first place in the National League West.

“He’s our guy,” said Dodger pitching coach Dave Wallace, “and he’s been our guy. The reason the other guys [in the rotation] have had their success is because the burden has been on Ramon.”

Martinez inherited the role of staff ace with the departure of veterans Orel Hershiser and Kevin Gross. Instead of withering under the pressure, he has thrived. He threw a no-hitter July 14, the Dodgers have an 18-9 record in his 27 starts, and Martinez has limited the opposition to two or fewer runs in 16 starts.

The Ramon Martinez who won 37 games his first two full seasons but struggled the next three is back. Little wonder the Dodgers plan to make Martinez their highest-paid pitcher in history when he becomes a free agent this off-season.

And if Martinez didn’t provide enough heroics with his arm, guess who was responsible for helping break open the game with a five-run fourth inning.

The inning began when Roberto Kelly led off with a double to left. Incredibly, it was the Dodgers’ first double in 30 innings, dating to Kelly’s last one on Sept. 3 when Martinez last pitched.

Rookie outfielder Karim Garcia then singled to right for his second hit.

Martinez, who had only one extra-base hit since opening day, was up next. Starter Esteban Loaiza threw a fastball that shattered Martinez’s bat. Martinez looked in the stands, worrying about whether it hit a fan. When he looked up, his ball was sailing into the right-center gap for a two-run double.

Just to prove it was no fluke, Martinez doubled again in the sixth inning. The Dodgers wound up with five doubles, their second-highest total of the season.