ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Hard to believe now, but there was a time when Vladimir Guerrero was afraid to venture from the Montreal apartment he once shared with Pedro Martinez without the piece of paper on which Martinez had scrawled their address.
New to the continent, unfamiliar with the language, the shy Dominican was utterly dependent on the assistance of Martinez, who called him "my little brother" as he helped him acclimate to the big leagues when they were Expos teammates.
No more. Guerrero is all grown up now, and while he remains close with Martinez, he had no trouble making the pitcher's life utterly miserable last night in Angel Stadium. Guerrero drove in nine runs, setting an Angels club record in a 10-7 win over the Sox that dropped Boston two games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East for the first time this season.
"I have to tip my hat," said Martinez, who was tagged for 11 hits, the sixth time in his career he has allowed 11 or more in a game, the first time since July 18, 1999, when he gave up a dozen to the Florida Marlins and went on the disabled list the next day. "He's the best player in the game. It doesn't surprise me to see an act like that from Vladi.
"I tried to work him six, seven inches off the plate and he still made contact."
Five of Guerrero's RBIs came against Martinez, beginning with a two-run home run in the first inning. The biggest three came against Mike Timlin on a sixth-inning home run that gave the Angels an 8-7 lead.
Discarded Sox prospect David Eckstein delivered the first blow to Martinez's ego with a leadoff single, one of a career-high five hits for the shortstop on a night the Angels would crank out 17 hits against three Sox pitchers, including Keith Foulke, who gave up a seventh-inning single to Guerrero that drove in the Angels' final run.
"I've never seen a night like that," said Angels manager Mike Scioscia, whose team swept this brief two-game set by outslugging the Sox each night and leaving them with five losses in their last seven games. "I've seen guys have nice nights, but I don't think they were against the quality of pitching he faced or the caliber of ball club we were playing.
"To have him put up a night like that is just incredible. People are going to read that and think it's a misprint. Against Pedro, Timlin, and Foulke? They have an incredible bullpen."
Guerrero, who had two home runs, a double, a single, and a sacrifice fly, took over the league lead in RBIs with 49, blowing past David Ortiz. He is one home run behind Manny Ramirez, who hit his 15th, a drive off lefty Jarrod Washburn that cleared the center-field fence to lead off the second.
