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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Pedro Martinez might not have had his
best stuff, but it was enough to take care of the Oakland
Athletics.
|  | | Pedro Martinez called his performance "average," but his stuff was still good enough for a 5-4 win over the A's. |
Martinez (4-0) allowed one run on four hits in seven innings as
the Red Sox beat the A's 5-4 Sunday night. Jose Offerman and Troy
O'Leary homered to account for Boston's five-run fifth inning.
Martinez, who struck out at least 10 batters in each of his last
three starts, fanned just six A's.
He called his performance "average."
"As long as you get them out, it doesn't matter if I get
strikeouts or not," Martinez said. "I didn't feel quite
comfortable here. But I was spotting the ball well."
Martinez threw 136 pitches in his last start at Seattle on
Tuesday.
"Just because he didn't have a lot of strikeouts doesn't mean
he didn't have his 'A' stuff," Oakland manager Art Howe said.
The three-time Cy Young winner has won all four of his career
starts in Oakland, and is 5-1 against the A's overall.
Oakland, which has won just four games at home this season,
closed to 5-4 on Jason Giambi's RBI groundout in the ninth. Rod
Beck relieved Rich Garces and got the final two outs for his second
save in three chances.
Cory Lidle (0-2), who did not have a decision in his last three
starts, allowed five runs on five hits in six innings.
He got out of a jam in the first when Carl Everett walked, Manny
Ramirez doubled and O'Leary walked to load the bases with two out.
Jason Varitek ended the threat with a grounder to second.
But in the fifth, Lidle unraveled. Offerman clubbed his
three-run shot over the right-field fence, and O'Leary followed
three batters later with a homer to nearly the same spot.
"Today they hit two big mistakes – and it cost me the game,"
Lidle said.
The Oakland bats didn't help Lidle. The closest the A's came to
scoring in the first five innings was in the second, when Giambi
singled and went to second on a wild pitch.
In the sixth, Eric Chavez led off with a double and went to
third on Everett's throwing error. He scored on Johnny Damon's
double-play grounder.
Chavez added an RBI double in the eighth off Rolando Arrojo and
scored on Mario Valdez's grounder. It was Arrojo's first earned run
in 17 innings. Garces and Beck followed him to the mound.
"Each guy got two outs," Boston manager Jimy Williams said.
"Sometimes you have to piece it together like that to get a win."
A large number of Red Sox fans at the Coliseum loudly applauded
Martinez as he took the bullpen mound for pregame warmups. A fan
hoisted a sign proclaiming Martinez the "best pitcher on the
planet."
Martinez received another ovation at the end of the seventh when
he left the mound.
Ramirez, Boston's designated hitter, was 1-for-3 with two walks
dropping his league-leading average to .405. He was 4-for-5 on
Saturday.
Game notes
The Red Sox are the only team in the majors not to commit
an error at shortstop this season. ... Ramirez, who is also tied
for the AL lead with 34 RBIs, could get back to the outfield as
early as Tuesday. He's been serving as DH since the start of the
season while nursing a sore left hamstring. ... Lidle faced Boston
last Aug. 28 while he was with the Devil Rays, and was thrown out
of the game because he threw behind Brian Daubach. Lidle served a
three-game suspension. ... Oakland dropped to 0-5 on Sundays. ...
In three games against the Red Sox, Chavez was 5-for-11 with four
runs and five RBI. ... It was the first time Offerman started a
game at first base against a right-handed pitcher. "To tell you
the truth, I never expected to play today," he said.
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RECAPS
Cleveland 10
Tampa Bay 3
NY Yankees 2
Baltimore 1
Minnesota 4
Kansas City 2
Chi. White Sox 10
Texas 5
Anaheim 3
Detroit 2
Toronto 11
Seattle 3
Boston 5
Oakland 4
Atlanta 7
St. Louis 5
Florida 5
Milwaukee 1
Arizona 8
NY Mets 2
San Diego 8
Cincinnati 2
Houston 13
Montreal 7
Philadelphia 10
San Francisco 8
Pittsburgh 4
Colorado 3
Chicago Cubs 3
Los Angeles 2
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