Expos’ Martinez Dealing With It

It will be remembered as one of the worst trades in Dodger history, and Sunday afternoon, Montreal Expo starter Pedro Martinez again resurrected the memory.

Martinez, who cried the day he was traded 3 1/2 years ago for second baseman Delino DeShields, showed why the Dodgers weep every time he pitches, helping beat his former team, 7-4, at Olympic Stadium.

Even with his worst outing of the season, Martinez became the first Expo to open the season 7-0. He joins Bobby Jones of the New York Mets as the only seven-game winners in the National League.

“It’s a crying shame when the best pitcher in the league has two hairs on his chest,” said Expo reliever Lee Smith, who has been pitching professionally since Martinez was 3 years old.

Martinez, 25, the younger brother of Dodger starter Ramon Martinez, may still be a baby, but he has emerged as a leading contender for the Cy Young award.

“We just ran up against a good pitcher tonight,” Dodger Manager Bill Russell said. “You can see why he has the record he has. He has a lot of confidence in himself and it shows. . . .

“Oh, well, at least we got his ERA to go up.”

If nothing else, the Dodgers can say they scored four runs off Martinez--the most against him since Aug. 24, 1996. Martinez’s ERA shot up from 0.79 to 1.20, still the lowest in the major leagues.

The Dodgers still couldn’t beat him, losing for only the second time in 18 games this season when scoring four or more runs.

“I didn’t do as well as I should,” said Martinez, who defeated the Dodgers for the first time and now has beaten every team in the National League. “I didn’t have my best stuff warming up. I tried, but it wasn’t my best game.”

Martinez’s ability to win despite his ordinary performance most impressed his big brother.

“He wasn’t too sharp,” Ramon Martinez said, “but when you’re a good pitcher, you can get away with that. It was the first time I saw him pitch [with such composure].”

Martinez gave up six hits, including solo homers to Todd Zeile and Eric Karros, in his seven innings and left the game with a 6-4 lead. He didn’t need to be perfect with his teammates pounding Dodger starter Pedro Astacio (3-2) for nine hits--five by second baseman Mike Lansing--and six runs in his worst outing of the season.

It simply was a continuation of Astacio’s woes at Olympic Stadium. He is 0-3 with a 9.25 ERA in six games there and has had to deal with 47 baserunners in 24 1/3 innings.

“I don’t know, man, I never pitch good here,” Astacio said. “I don’t know what it is.”

If nothing else, Astacio can take solace knowing that Pedro Martinez no longer is employed by the Dodgers. If Martinez were around, he would probably be taking Astacio’s spot in the rotation.

“What he’s doing right now doesn’t surprise me at all,” Dodger pitching coach Dave Wallace said. “He’s got what I call a good cockiness about him, a supreme confidence. I remember seeing him pitch in a playoff game his first year in Great Falls [Mont.], and he was going against a lot of older players. This kid just dominated them.

“You could see in the lower minors there was something special about this guy.”

The Dodgers realized Martinez had the best arm in the organization, but still, there were in desperate need of a second baseman after Jody Reed rejected their three-year, $7.8 million offer. They decided that DeShields would be the perfect fit and their offensive catalyst.

Little did anyone realize just how lopsided the trade would become. Martinez had a 48-21 record with a 3.58 ERA in his first three seasons with the Expos. DeShields, now playing for St. Louis, batted .241 for the Dodgers--36 points below his average with the Expos.

“Obviously, it wasn’t a trade that worked out for us,” said Karros. “He wanted to be a starter and he didn’t get that opportunity here. What can you say, he’s sure making the most of that opportunity now.”