Pedro Martinez Likes the Taste of Victory

Pedro Martinez struck out 11 in seven innings to take over the American League lead and Reggie Jefferson hit a two-run homer to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night at Chicago.

Martinez (8-2) gave up four hits and walked a season-high five. He raised his strikeout total to 125, passing Seattle’s Randy Johnson (122) for the league lead.

It was the fewest runs given up by Martinez in his last five starts. He had given up 23 earned runs in 24 innings over his four previous outings.

“I couldn’t sleep. Sometimes I couldn’t eat,” Martinez said of his struggles over the past few weeks. “That’s not my style to look like that. I’ve never given up four home runs in a game. I know everybody goes through one of these. I’m glad I’m back.”

Can he eat now?

“I can go back to sleep. I can eat--I’m very skinny,” he said, smiling.

Martinez threw a season-high 140 pitches and Boston Manager Jimy Williams said he doesn’t like to extend his starters that far. Martinez said he needed it.

“I felt that I needed to air it out and let it go, see what happens,” Martinez said. “When I pitched to Albert Belle in the last inning, the last at-bat, I felt that was me back on the mound. I really felt it.”

It was the 32nd time in his career Martinez has struck out 10 or more in a game.

The only blemish against Martinez was a homer by Frank Thomas, his 11th, in the fifth.

Nomar Garciaparra and Lou Merloni each had three hits for the Red Sox, who have won five of six.

White Sox first baseman Wil Cordero left the game after four innings because of a migraine headache.

Cleveland 9, Kansas City 1--Manny Ramirez homered and drove in six runs, and Bartolo Colon pitched his AL-leading fifth complete game as the Indians ended a four-game losing streak by beating the Royals at Cleveland.

Ramirez had a two-run double in the first, a solo homer in the fifth and a three-run double in Cleveland’s five-run sixth. He tied a career high with six RBIs and jolted the Indians out of the slump and rain-delay doldrums that had them winless since June 8.

Colon (6-4), who has gone at least eight innings in seven of 14 starts, gave up one run and six hits, walking one and striking out two. Colon lowered his earned-run average to 2.73 despite working on seven days’ rest because two games were rained out in New York last weekend,

He followed his 95-pitch, four-hit shutout of the Pirates by throwing 106 pitches, 69 for strikes.

His five complete games are one more than the entire Cleveland pitching staff had last season. If not for Jose Offerman’s RBI groundout in the third, Colon would have had his second consecutive shutout and third of the season.

“My goal is to see if I can get 10 complete games,” Colon said.

Ramirez missed his second homer of the game by a few feet with his bases-loaded double off the top of the 19-foot wall in left-center in the sixth. He didn’t let an embarrassing error--overrunning Johnny Damon’s leadoff single in the first--bother him at the plate.

“Manny continues to surprise everybody,” Indian Manager Mike Hargrove said.

Baltimore 2, New York 0--Rookie Sidney Ponson helped end the Yankees major league record streak of non-losing series at 24.

By winning the first two games of the three-game series at Baltimore, the Orioles assured the Yankees of not splitting or winning a series for the first time since opening the year with two losses at Anaheim.

New York had been tied for the most consecutive series wins in a season with the 1912 Boston Red Sox and 1970 Cincinnati Reds.

Ponson (1-4), making only his fourth career start and his first at Camden Yards, gave up only two hits in 6 2/3 innings. The right-hander retired 20 of the first 21 hitters he faced.

The start of the game was delayed 1 hour 11 minutes by rain.

Tampa Bay 4, Toronto 3--The Blue Jays’ bullpen blew it for the second consecutive night as Miguel Cairo’s RBI double capped the Devil Rays’ three-run, ninth-inning rally off Randy Myers at St. Petersburg, Fla.

The day before, Blue Jay relievers failed to protect a late two-run lead against Tampa Bay.

Myers (2-2) was brought in to hold a 3-1 lead for starter Pat Hentgen. With one out, pinch-hitter Aaron Ledesma doubled and scored on Mike DiFelice’s single. Bobby Smith’s single sent pinch-runner Randy Winn to third.

Kevin Stocker hit a chopper to short and Winn beat Alex Gonzalez’s throw to the plate. Cairo hit Myers’ next pitch into right-center for a ground-rule double, scoring Smith.

Jim Mecir (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win.

Felipe Crespo’s two-run double gave the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead in the fourth.

Hentgen gave up one run and four hits in 7 1/3 innings.

Paul Sorrento homered for Tampa Bay.

Minnesota 8, Detroit 5--Pat Meares’ two-run single put the Twins ahead to stay in the sixth inning, and Ron Coomer hit a three-run homer in the seventh as the Twins won at Detroit.

Kimera Bartee hit a two-run homer and had a career-high four RBIs for the Tigers, who have lost 12 of 16.

The Twins, who have won six of nine, got a big play from Paul Molitor’s 41-year-old legs in the seventh inning.

With the Twins leading, 4-3, Molitor had a hit to center that ordinarily would have been a single. But he turned it into a double and, after Todd Walker was intentionally walked, Coomer stepped up to line one out and give the Twins a cushion.

“That set up the inning,” Manager Tom Kelly said of Molitor’s play. “If he’s on first it’s a different inning. That’s why he’s a Hall of Fame player. He’s still got it in him.”