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 Martinez channeled his emotions into arguably the best start of his
burgeoning major league career. The St. Louis Cardinals'
right-hander allowed just one hit in seven dominant shutout innings
to pick up a 3-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium.
"I wanted to win it for Oscar," Martinez said through an
interpreter.
St. Louis picked this day, the one-year anniversary of Taveras'
big-league debut in which he belted a solo homer to help beat San
Francisco, to honor the young man who died Oct. 25 in the Dominican
Republic after an auto accident.
Some were wondering if Martinez might not fall victim to the
occasion. Taveras' parents were on hand, sitting near the Cardinals'
dugout, and participated in a pregame ceremony. Instead of letting
emotion overcome him, Martinez (5-2) used it to throttle Los
Angeles.
Right fielder Andre Ethier managed a second-inning single and
Martinez issued three walks, including two in a row with one out in
the sixth to create his only real jam of the day. But he fanned
first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and second baseman Howie Kendrick,
pounding his fist against his chest after getting Kendrick to sucker
for an 0-2 breaking ball.
"From his first pitch to his last one, he turned it up a notch," St.
Louis manager Mike Matheny said of Martinez. "It was a tough test
for him all the way around. I think today is one of those benchmark
days for him."
Martinez ended his three-walk, eight-strikeout day in style,
freezing left fielder Alex Guerrero with a breaking ball to end the
seventh.
The Cardinals' bullpen closed it out, although not without drama.
Kevin Siegrist coughed up a two-out solo homer to center fielder Joc
Pederson in the eighth and closer Trevor Rosenthal issued two
two-out walks in the ninth before slipping a called third strike
past third baseman Justin Turner to notch his 15th save.
As fireworks boomed overhead and a sellout crowd of 45,285
celebrated, Turner got in the face of plate umpire Marty Foster and
was ejected -- the third Dodger to get heaved in the series.
"I think the last two (strikes were) clearly off the plate," Dodgers
manager Don Mattingly said of Turner's at-bat. "It's too bad but
again, you can't win that fight. They (umpires) have the power."
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So does St. Louis shortstop Jhonny Peralta, who accounted for all
three runs by his team. Peralta cracked a two-run homer into the Los
Angeles bullpen off starter Brett Anderson in the first, then
supplied insurance in the eighth with a bloop single that scored
pinch hitter Jon Jay from second.
Anderson (2-3) gave up five hits and two runs in six innings,
walking three and fanning five. The left-hander also picked two
runners off first base to maneuver out of trouble.
But it wasn't enough to keep Los Angeles from falling to 29-20.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals (33-17) improved to 5-1 on their nine-game
homestand, upping their home record to 20-6.
Their latest win came courtesy of a pitcher pitching for a cause.
"I had to work hard to get my focus back," Martinez said about
pitching after the tribute to Taveras. "His mother and father were
here, so I wanted to win it for them."
NOTES: St. Louis LF Matt Holliday (flu-like symptoms) was scratched
from Sunday's lineup about two hours before the game. Holliday
started Saturday night's rain-delayed game but left after four
innings due to illness. ... Los Angeles RF Andre Ethier needs just
one RBI to move past former teammate Matt Kemp for fifth in L.A.
franchise history (648). ... Entering Sunday's game, Dodger starters
lead the National League in May with a 3.04 ERA.
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