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  Monday, Jun. 12 7:05pm ET
Pedro's start pushed back to Wednesday
 
  GAME UPDATE | GAME LOG

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Yankees' second straight rainout only delayed their matchup with Pedro Martinez.

One night after their Subway Series showdown with the Mets was postponed, the opener of New York's series with AL East rival Boston was washed out at 9:29 p.m. ET Monday night -- more than two hours after the scheduled starting time.

Yankees vs. Mets:
Home-and-home in same day?
Yankees chief operating officer Lonn Trost told The New York Times on Monday that both the Yankees and Mets "are working to get all the approvals we need" for a day-night doubleheader at Shea and Yankee Stadiums on July 8. The teams are looking for a date to make up Sunday's rainout.

The first game would be at Shea in the afternoon and the second game at Yankee Stadium at night.

The postponement -- the game will be made up Sept. 11 at 6:05 p.m. -- pushed back Martinez's next start one day until Wednesday, with Brian Rose (3-3) opposing Orlando Hernandez (6-4) on Tuesday night.

"I'll do whatever they consider is right," Martinez said about having an extra day between starts. "I've done pretty well that way in previous starts."

Yankees manager Joe Torre said he is still deciding whether to go with former Red Sox ace Roger Clemens or Ramiro Mendoza against Martinez on Wednesday.

Depending on which way Torre goes, Clemens and Martinez will likely have a rematch of their May 28 duel -- won 2-0 by Martinez -- either this week or next Tuesday in Boston.

"I've done that before," a confident Martinez said. "I'm here."

That's not a thought that puts the Yankees at ease. No matter what approach they try against the Cy Young winner, the results are similar: making outs.

"He doesn't make too many mistakes," shortstop Derek Jeter said. "He throws a lot of strikes. You look for one pitch and hope you get a good swing on it."

Jorge Posada employs a much more defensive approach, knowing that Martinez can embarrass any hitter with any of his pitches.

"If you're going to go up there guessing against him, you're going to go 0-for-4," he said. "That's how good he is. You can't look for one pitch because he throws all his pitches for strikes. You try to hit the pitch he gives you. You have to hope he makes a mistake and take advantage of it.

Martinez hasn't made many mistakes this year. He has a 0.95 ERA, a .152 batting average by opposing batters -- both major league bests -- and has allowed only two hits in 45 at-bats with runners in scoring position. Martinez hasn't given up a homer with a man on base since 1998.

"Pedro is the best," teammate Carl Everett said. "He believes in himself. Even when he doesn't have his best stuff, he's so good he knows he can get you out. He's very confident."

As good as Martinez is, the Yankees said he's not unhittable. They generated a couple of rallies against him in May, including loading the bases in the ninth inning.

"He has to throw three strikes. If it's a strike, it's a pitch you can hit," Jeter said. "You can't fear him when you go up to the plate. If you do that, you might as well not go up there."

Martinez has been at his best against the Yankees, going 5-0 with a 1.10 ERA in his career against New York, including a win in last year's AL Championship Sseries. New York's projected lineup against Martinez has a .175 career average with no homers and six RBI -- including the postseason.

Jeter is considered the expert on how to hit Martinez. He went 3-for-4 last time out -- although one hit was an opposite-field blooper off his fists and another was a slow roller to third base that he beat out -- and is 6-for-20 overall.

"I'm not an expert. It's just more luck," Jeter said.

That might be just what the Yankees need if they are to finally beat Martinez on Wednesday.

 


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