Same for Martinez, which is why the Dominican superstars took special pride yesterday in leading the Red Sox to a 2-0 triumph over the Yankees in completing a crushing sweep of the defending American League champions before 55,338 in the Bronx. The three-game sweep was the first for the Sox over the Empire since Sept. 10-12, 1999, and it capped a rousing 10-day period in which the Sox won the first two series of a season against the Yankees for the first time since 1988.
"There's no doubt these are the people we've been behind," Martinez said through a team spokesman, "so it's nice to take advantage of these opportunities against them."
Ramirez helped to secure Boston's grip on first place in the AL East and widen the gap between the Sox and the Yankees in the division to 4 1/2 games by providing Martinez all the support he needed with a jolting, two-run homer off Javier Vazquez in the fourth inning of the series finale. Vazquez, who otherwise pitched brilliantly on just three days of rest, made the mistake of walking Mark Bellhorn leading off the inning and hanging a breaking ball to Ramirez.
Ramirez belted a memorable shot into the Sox bullpen for his 20th home run in the stadium, matching Rafael Palmeiro for the most by an active opposing player.
"I'm just lucky to have a lot of success here," he said.
Sure, and Pedro just got lucky, too? Not quite.
Martinez, who is seven months older than Ramirez, made his contribution in his first appearance in the Bronx since the devastating loss last October in the AL Championship Series. No blown leads this time. Instead, Martinez blanked the Yankees on four hits and a walk over seven innings before he handed off to Scott Williamson, who shined in the eighth and ninth for his first save of the season.
"I'm feeling better," said Martinez, who started slowly but suddenly is 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA. "I'm starting to get my groove."
