Pedro Martinez has pitched his first game in the major leagues since September of 2008, and got his first win as well with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies defeated the Chicago Cubs 12-5, mainly from a lot of help from the offense. Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins and Raul Ibanez hit home runs in the win, and they were up 12-1 in the fourth inning. Martinez pitched five innings, giving up three runs and striking out five batters. Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija pitched three and a third innings and gave up seven runs in the loss.
This was Pedro Martinez's first start since last September, when he played the Cubs as a member of the New York Mets. Martinez was decent in his first start, even though he was helped out by the offense of the Phillies. Martinez has room for improvement and he has a month and a half to improve. The Phillies want him to be more than serviceable, especially in the playoffs. Martinez does have a World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox and has three Cy Young Awards.
The Phillies got Cliff Lee in a trade deadline deal to shore up their starting rotation. By starting Martinez, the Phillies demoted Jamie Moyer to the bullpen, who wasn't thrilled about it. If Lee, Martinez, and Cole Hamels can sharpen their games for the playoffs, then the Phillies could be right back in the World Series. However, I don't think Martinez will be effective. He'll be just as good as he was with the Mets the past couple of seasons, and the Phillies will end only relying on Lee for wins.
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