A Triumphant Return

I caught Pedro Martinez' return to the Mets yesterday. While he clearly isn't the same pitcher he was 3 or 4 years ago, he gritted out 5 innings and 76 pitches to get his first win of 2007. Pedro also struck out Aaron Harang in the second inning for his career 3,000 strikeout, as he became just the 15th pitcher in MLB history to reach that plateau.

It was quite the shot in the arm the Mets needed. He returned to the Mets after they were swept in Philadelphia, and they've looked like a different team since. They are now on a four-game winning streak. After yesterday's game, he said he felt good, and could even have gone on longer (but of course, the Mets wouldn't have dared do that).

Pedro didn't air it out, as his fastball hit the radar gun at a high of 90 MPH in his next-to-last pitch. In the first inning he looked a bit shaky as you'd might expect, giving up two runs. But then he settled in and toughed it out for five innings and got the win, as the mets beat Cincinnati, 10-4.

His pitching line for the day:
5 innings, 5 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, 76 pitches (47 strikes)

Everyone around the Mets, and especially Pedro, was very pleased with his first outing of 2007. He's come all the way back from his rotator cuff surgery.

Good to have you back and effective, Pedro.