With Martinez masterful, the Sox overcame a strong challenge from Detroit starter Jeremy Bonderman and rollicked to a 5-1 victory before 35,032 on the steamiest night of the summer in the Fens. The triumph vaulted the Sox 1 1/2 games ahead of the Angels, 7-1 losers to the Twins, in the wild-card race and kept them 5 1/2 behind the AL East-leading Yankees, who thumped the Blue Jays, 18-6.
"This is not a boring clubhouse or dull dugout," Francona said. "I think sometimes when people view our dugout, they get a little different impression. These guys feel good about each other. They stick together, and it's certainly easier to do that when you are winning."
Boy, are they winnning. Martinez led the way to the latest victory as he enhanced his Hall of Fame credentials by climbing into 20th place on the all-time strikeout list (the only pitchers ahead of him who are eligible for the Hall and have yet to reach Cooperstown are Bert Blyleven, Mickey Lolich, and Frank Tanana).
"Top 20?" Martinez said on learning the news. "Who would imagine that, huh?"
Martinez surpassed Chuck Finley, his eight strikeouts lifting his career total to 2,614.
Even lacking his best stuff, Martinez limited the Tigers to one run on four hits, two walks, and a pair of hit batsmen over seven innings as he submitted his 19th quality start in 27 outings and improved to 14-5 with a 3.69 ERA.
"Nothing can be more fun than that," Ortiz said of Martinez keeping the streak rolling.
Nasty as ever under pressure, Martinez surrendered only one hit (an RBI double by Craig Monroe) with runners on base and allowed only one Tiger to reach third (Dmitri Young touched the bag before scoring on Monroe's double). Martinez credited Lowe in part for his smooth outing.
"He kept me loose the whole game," Martinez said. "When I snapped at one part of the game, he continued to keep me loose and make me laugh."
Lowe was happy to oblige.
"I told him before the game I had a little surprise for him," Lowe said. "He wore the same exact outfit the night before and got a win for me. I figured I'd do it for him."
