"The weather is good," Ramirez told Martinez, his voice carrying to every corner of the clubhouse. "No excuses."
When Martinez smiled back, Ramirez declared, "The baby is ready tonight."
Well, almost. As it turned out, Martinez needed a little extra time to find his groove as Matt Lawton crushed his first pitch (an 84-mile-an-hour fastball) over the center-field wall and the next two Indians singled, leading to another run, as Ramirez, the designated hitter, watched gravely from the dugout.
Panic? Not Ramirez. Or Martinez.
"It doesn't matter what happens in the first inning," Ramirez said. "Like I told Pedro, he's the baby, the best pitcher in baseball. I know he's going to be there for us."
Soon, the baby was ready, and the Sox were rolling. With Martinez holding the next 24 batters scoreless through the seventh and Ramirez contributing to a dandy comeback, the Sox stunned the Indians and their ace, C.C. Sabathia, 5-2, before 26,825 at Jacobs Field. The victory allowed the Sox to split the series, regain sole possession of first place in the American League East, and return home 2-5 from a disastrous start to their seven-game swing through Texas and Cleveland.
Martinez, in brief remarks afterward, said the weather seemed to help him. And he brushed off his rocky start.
"I felt pretty good from the get-go," he said. "It was just the first pitch of the game. I had to throw strikes and Lawton happened to hit one. I'll take my chances again and over and over and over. I've done that throughout my career and very few times have I given up home runs right off the first pitch."
Martinez ultimately outdueled Sabathia, allowing only one hit and three walks after the first three batters nicked him. Manager Terry Francona, whose closed-door address to his players Tuesday after their fifth straight loss seemed to have a positive effect, said Martinez appeared to baffle the Indians after his shaky start with his cut fastball, though Martinez said the cutter was only part of the story.
"I think all my pitches were there," he said. "It was just a matter of getting into a groove and getting settled."
In any case, the Sox fully embraced the results.
"The Sox are back!" Derek Lowe declared in the giddy aftermath.
