Slammed from Both Sides

The encouragement came during a conversation on the mound Tuesday, but Ramon Martinez realized the support could help only so much.

The Dodger right-hander was facing Mark McGwire, among the game’s most feared power hitters, on opening day at Busch Stadium with the bases loaded in the fifth inning, and he would need more than inspiring words to get out of that jam.

Martinez needed to make perfect pitches. But he didn’t.

McGwire hit a grand slam to left field in the Cardinals’ 6-0 victory. McGwire electrified the red-clad sellout crowd of 47,972 with the first opening-day grand slam in Cardinal history, and he provided all the offense that starter Todd Stottlemyre, who pitched seven-plus scoreless innings to earn the victory, and three relievers would need.

The Dodgers got only three singles, two by rookie Paul Konerko. They were shut out by Philadelphia on opening day last year.

McGwire’s homer didn’t travel as far as the 517-foot blast he hit against Martinez here last season, but the impact was greater.

“Everything changed right there,” Martinez said. “I threw him a good pitch, a changeup that was a little bit high, and at first I didn’t think it was going to go out.

“But it kept carrying, and carrying. Sometimes you want to get a pitch back before you throw it, and I wanted that one back.”

In a scoreless tie, the Cardinals had runners on first and third with no outs in the fifth. Martinez struck out Stottlemyre and Royce Clayton. Former Dodger Delino DeShields was all that stood between Martinez and the end of the inning.

But DeShields walked to load the bases and send the crowd into a frenzy.

Russell and the entire infield went to the mound to encourage Martinez before McGwire came to the plate.

“Billy told Ramon to go after him, that we had confidence in him,” second baseman Eric Young said. “We knew that Ramon was in a tough spot, but he was pitching well, and he’s our ace. We just needed to let him know we were behind him.”

But the group therapy didn’t help. After missing badly with his first pitch, Martinez threw the high change-up. The Cardinals had a 4-0 lead, and the Dodgers never threatened.

“Walking DeShields was the key right there,” Russell said. “We got into a position where we had to pitch to [McGwire] with the bases loaded, because we had no place to put him.

“He’s the main guy over there, the guy who makes things happen, and that’s what he did.”

Martinez said he made two big mistakes.

“I know I shouldn’t have walked [DeShields],” said Martinez, who is 2-3 in opening-day starts. “I knew that McGwire was waiting, but I felt that I could get him if I lost DeShields. It was a mistake.”