Fontenot got the ball in the top of the first inning and Darren Lewis grounded out to third to start. Darren Bragg lined out to Fontenot and Nomar Garciaparra flied out to center to end the inning. Martinez got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Todd Dunwoody flied out to right to start. Edgar Renteria grounded out to second but Mark Kotsay got a base hit to center. Kotsay was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning.
Mo Vaughn singled in the hole at second to start the top of the second but Troy O'Leary grounded into a double play. Louis Merloni flied out to center to end the inning. Todd Zeile struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second and Cliff Floyd popped up to second. Derrek Lee grounded out to second to end the inning.
Scott Hatteberg flied out to left to start the top of the third but Mike Benjamin doubled to center. Martinez grounded out to first to move Mike to third but Lewis flied out to right to end the inning. Gregg Zaun popped up to short to start the bottom of the third and Craig Counsell's bunt was snuffed out by Hatteberg. Fontenot struck out swinging to end the inning.
Bragg flied out to left to start the top of the fourth but Garciaparra singled to center. Vaughn and O'Leary both flied out to center to end the inning. The Marlins struck first in the bottom of the fourth with Reggie Jefferson now at first. Dunwoody doubled to left then took third on the grounder to short by Renteria. Dunwoody scored on a wild pitch but Kotsay flied out to center. Zeile also flied out to center to end the inning with the Marlins up 1-0.
The Sox fought back in the top of the fifth as Merloni was hit with a pitch to start. Hatteberg doubled to right and Zeile booted a grounder by Benjamin for an error to score Merloni. Martinez struck out swinging and Hatteberg was tagged out by Zeile on a grounder by Lewis. Bragg struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Floyd doubled to center to start the bottom of the fifth then moved to third on a passed ball. Lee & Zaun both struck out swinging but Counsell walked. Fontenot flied out to center to end the inning.
The Sox took the lead in the top of the sixth as Garciaparra doubled to left to start. Jefferson grounded out to first and O'Leary flied out to center, but a wild pitch moved Nomar to third. Another wild pitch scored Garciaparra to tie the game and Merloni walked. Hatteberg flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 2-1.
Dunwoody popped up to third to start the bottom of the sixth and Renteria lined out to first. Kotsay grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox iced the game in the top of the seventh as Benjamin doubled to left to start. Martinez busted foul for strike three and Lewis grounded out to second to move Benjamin to third. Bragg beat out a roller to second to score Benjamin and Garciaparra got a base hit to left to chase Fontenot. Felix Heredia came in and a passed ball moved the runners over. Jefferson walked and the pitch got away allowing Bragg to score. O'Leary forced Bragg at second to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.
Zeile struck out swinging to start the bottom of the seventh and Floyd flied out to left. Lee lined out to short to end the inning.
Brian Edmondson took over for Lee at first with Ryan Jackson in to pitch the top of the eighth. Merloni grounded out to short to start but Hatteberg doubled to right. Benjamin struck out swinging and Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning. Martinez returned for one final inning in the bottom of the eighth and Zaun flied out to center to start. Counsell singled to left and Jackson got a base hit to center, but Dunwoody struck out swinging. Renteria grounded out to third to end the inning. That was it for Martinez who dazzled the Marlins for 8 innings allowing just 1 run off 5 hits and a walk.
The Sox wrapped up the scoring in the top of the ninth as Lewis grounded out to short to start. Bragg grounded out to second but Garciaparra doubled to left. Jefferson mashed his eighth home run of the year to increase the lead but O'Leary grounded out to second to end the inning with Boston ahead 6-1.
Ron Mahay came in to close out the bottom of the ninth and John Wehner pinch hit for Kotsay to start. Wehner popped up to first and Zeile flied out to center. John Cangelosi pinch hit for Floyd and grounded out to third to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-1
Sox win
Hero Martinez
Hero of The Night is Pedro Martinez. He tossed 8 innings of 1 run ball allowing 5 hits and a walk.
The Good:
Nomar Garciaparra was 4 for 5 with 2 runs scored.
Mo Vaughn was 1 for 2 before leaving with injury.
Reggie Jefferson was 1 for 2 with a walk and a 2 run home run.
Lou Merloni walked, was hit with a pitch and scored a run in 4 plate appearances.
Scott Hatteberg was 2 for 4.
Mike Benjamin was 2 for 4 with a run scored.
Ron Mahay pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Darren Lewis was 0 for 5.
Troy O'Leary was 0 for 5.
The Ugly:
Darren Bragg was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but drove in a run and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox may be hopelessly behind the New York Yankees but tonight was a big win to keep pace in the wild card race. Pedro Martinez was outstanding to hold last year's champs to just 1 run and the key to the game was taking advantage of bad defense. The Sox apart from the Jefferson blast didn't really do much offensively, they just waited for Florida to make a mistake and the Marlins made plenty of them. Passed balls, wild pitches and errors will kill you every time. Still, win by any means necessary and the Sox did it in this one. Vaughn left the game limping and hopefully he's not out for too long, otherwise the Sox offense might be in trouble if he's gone too long. Still, it was a good win tonight and hopefully more are on the horizon. The win improved the Sox to 46-31, 10 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it three wins in a row and second straight against the Marlins tomorrow night when Tim Wakefield (8-3) takes on Jesus Sanchez of Florida. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Pro Player Stadium.
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