By the end of Friday night’s game, nobody at Yankee Stadium was asking Pedro Martinez who his daddy was. Martinez answered those chants with his performance on the mound as the New York Mets defeated their cross-town rivals 6-4 in the first game of a three game series at 'The House That Ruth Built.'
The Mets got home runs from Cliff Floyd and Carlos Beltran and four sacrifice flies to take a 6-2 lead. Mets closer Braden Looper surrendered two runs in the ninth inning before shutting down the Yankees to clinch the win.
The Mets set a National League record with three sacrifice flies in an inning courtesy of an error by Bernie Williams on a routine fly ball hit by Jose Reyes.
Martinez pitched eight strong innings but was hardly dominant. He struck out only three batters and walked two but kept the Yankees off balance all game with a good mix of pitches and pinpoint control. With the win, Pedro improved his record on the season to 8-2.
Players and managers from both teams had nothing but praise for Martinez.
'Even though he's not throwing as hard as he used to throw in the past, he's still able to pitch games and give us an opportunity,' Carlos Beltran told reporters after the game.
Yankees manager Joe Torre added, 'Especially with Pedro pitching, you can't give things away and we did.'
Yankees starter Mike Mussina took the loss and fell to 8-5. The Yankees have now lost four of their last 5 after reeling off a six-game winning streak.
The win provided a happy homecoming for Mets manager Willie Randolph who played second base for the Yankees for 12 years before coaching for the club taking over the helm of the Mets this season.
Randolph tried to downplay the significance of earning a win in his first game as a manager at Yankee Stadium. 'Once the game starts, it feels like what I've been doing all year,' Randolph said. 'I don't get all mushy about stuff.'
The Mets win evens the season series between the two teams at 2-2. The same teams meet again tomorrow at 4:05 EDT. Veteran lefty Tom Glavine will pitch for the Mets while the Yankees counter with 24-year-old rookie Sean Henn.
