Martinez Is Beginning to Heat Up

Pedro Martinez felt comfortable in the 74-degree temperature and on the Kauffman Stadium mound Friday night. As if he needs any extra help.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner struck out 12 and gave up five singles in eight innings Friday night to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 6-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals at Kansas City, Mo.

Martinez (6-0) didn’t allow a runner past first base until two outs in the eighth, when Luis Alicea walked and moved to third on Carlos Beltran’s single. But Martinez struck out Rey Sanchez to end the inning.

“I was able to spot the ball a little bit better and get my breaking ball over,” the right-hander said. “It was good weather to pitch in and a good baseball field to pitch in as well.”

Martinez walked one in lowering his earned-run average to 1.52, as 80 of his 109 pitches were strikes. He said it was the best he has felt this season.

“I had had a little inflammation and some discomfort in my back and my shoulder, and a little in my legs,” Martinez said of his previous few starts. “There was no pain, just discomfort warming up. Today I took it easy. I didn’t want to rush it. I tried to spot the ball well. When I felt confident enough, I just let it go.”

Martinez stretched his road winning streak to seven games, dating to Aug. 8 last season, when he lost 2-1 at Anaheim.

New York 14, Seattle 10--Tino Martinez went four for five with a three-run homer and four RBIs at Seattle.

David Justice also hit a three-run homer to help the Yankees end a losing streak at four games and stop Seattle’s winning streak at eight. The Mariners, who still have the best record in the major leagues at 31-10, gave up their most runs this season.

Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki extended his hitting streak to 23 games. He got three hits and matched the team record of seven consecutive multihit games shared by Ken Griffey Jr. and Joey Cora. Suzuki has the longest hitting streak in the majors this year, and is one shy of the Mariners’ mark set by Cora in 1997.

Seattle tied a team record with five stolen bases.

Detroit 18, Tampa Bay 2--Juan Encarnacion homered for the third consecutive game, keying a nine-run fifth inning at St. Petersburg, Fla., that helped rookie Victor Santos and the Tigers defeat the Devil Rays.

Santos, making his second major league start, extended his streak of consecutive innings without giving up an earned run to 27 1/3 before the punchless Devil Rays broke through for two runs off the right-hander in the sixth.

The streak was the longest for a pitcher at the start of a career since Fernando Valenzuela didn’t give up an earned run in his first 34 innings for the Dodgers over the 1980-81 seasons.

Santos (1-0) gave up two runs, two walks, three hits and struck out eight in six innings to get his first win.

Toronto 9, Texas 3--Alex Gonzalez hit a three-run homer and double, and Shannon Stewart drove in three runs as the Blue Jays defeated the Rangers at Arlington, Texas.

Toronto, which defeated Texas for the sixth consecutive time, won for just the fifth time in 17 games overall. Texas has lost 15 of 18.

Gonzalez chased rookie starter Aaron Myette (0-1) with his fourth-inning homer, which pushed Toronto’s lead to 7-1.

Toronto’s Homer Bush, activated from the disabled list before the game, went three for four, including an eighth-inning home run, his first of the season.

Chris Carpenter (4-1) took advantage of the big early lead to win his third consecutive decision. He allowed three runs and five hits over seven innings.

Baltimore 7, Minnesota 2--Jeff Conine hit his second grand slam of the season as the Orioles pounded Eric Milton and defeated the Twins at Baltimore.

Jason Johnson (3-2) gave up two runs and five hits in 7 2/3 innings for the Orioles, who have won six of nine. Johnson is 3-0 with a 1.30 ERA in five starts at Camden Yards this year.

Conine and Mike Kinkade homered in a five-run third inning against Milton (5-3), who did not give up more than three runs in any of his eight previous starts this season. The Twins’ left-hander was pulled after Baltimore made it 7-0 in the fourth.

Jacque Jones homered for the Twins, who failed in their bid to move 18 games over .500 for the first time since 1992.

Oakland 3, Chicago 2--Miguel Tejada hit his 11th homer in a three-run fourth inning as the surging Athletics defeated the White Sox at Oakland for their fourth consecutive victory.

The A’s, coming off a sweep of the Yankees, have won 11 of their last 15 games after opening the season 8-18.

Oakland starter Gil Heredia (3-5) gave up one run and four hits over six innings, lowering his team-high ERA from 8.92 to 7.84..

Closer Jason Isringhausen loaded the bases with none out in the ninth and gave up a run on Paul Konerko’s double-play grounder. But he got Jeff Liefer to pop out and earned his sixth save.