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  Tuesday, Aug. 8 10:05pm ET
Rookie outpitches idol -- just barely
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Rookie Ramon Ortiz beat his idol, and could hardly contain himself.

"I'm happy, man. We win. Oh, my God, I don't believe it," the 24-year-old right-hander said after pitching a two-hitter to outduel Pedro Martinez as the Anaheim Angels beat the Boston Red Sox 2-1 Tuesday night.

Then, speaking through an interpreter, Ortiz told reporters he and Martinez, who are both from the Dominican Republic, hugged before the game.

Ramon Ortiz
Rookie Ramon Ortiz didn't just pitch well Tuesday. He went out and did the unthinkable -- he beat his idol, Pedro Martinez.

"My family is probably going crazy," Ortiz said. "They called today (from the Dominican) and were making plans to watch the game because I was facing Pedro.

"He's going to give me a huge hug tomorrow. I love Pedro."

Martinez (13-4) pitched his sixth complete game, allowing only three hits while walking none and striking out nine.

But Ortiz (4-2), who walked two and struck out six in pitching his first career complete game, was just a little bit better.

Ortiz was recalled from the minors to make his first start since July 7 and eighth of the season. He has often said that the 28-year-old Martinez is his idol.

Both pitchers were consistently clocked in the mid-90s; Martinez allowed only three baserunners and Ortiz just five.

"I didn't pitch as good as the other guy," Martinez said. "I gave up one more hit than he did. I'm really happy for him. If I couldn't win, I wanted to see him pitch as well as he could.

"It's the best I've ever seen him. I wouldn't want to pitch against him again, I don't like to face my friends. Seeing him was like seeing my brother, Ramon, pitch for the other side, except for the blood."

The win was the second in a row for the Angels following a season-long five-game losing streak, and came with their pitching staff in shambles due to injuries, demotions, the trade of Kent Bottenfield and the release of Ken Hill.

The performance by Ortiz clearly eased manager Mike Scioscia's mind.

"I thought he did a great job worrying about the Red Sox hitters, and not the Red Sox pitcher," Scioscia said. "This is the way we know he can throw, it's better late than never."

Scioscia said Ortiz has spent most of the season in the minors because of a lack of command.

"He missed a little bit of spring training, tried to do a little too much early in the year," Scioscia said. "He went down to learn his command and get the tools to pitch in the big leagues."

Martinez entered the game with a 9-0 road record and 1.21 ERA in 11 starts as well as a big league-leading 1.42 ERA, and had won his previous four starts.

"That was one of the best games I've ever been in during my whole career," said Angels first baseman Mo Vaughn, who played for the Red Sox from 1991-98. "Ramon got ahead, didn't get rattled, going against the best in baseball and his idol. He showed he can do this, he stepped up and did a great job."

Tim Salmon hit a 2-0 pitch from Martinez over the left-center field fence for his 25th homer to start the second, extending his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games and giving the Angels a 1-0 lead.

Salmon was Anaheim's only baserunner until the fourth, when Orlando Palmeiro blooped a leadoff single and scored from second on a two-out RBI single by Garret Anderson.

Troy O'Leary doubled to open the fifth for the second Boston hit, and came around to score on a pair of infield outs to cut Anaheim's lead to complete the scoring.

Jason Varitek walked with two outs in the sixth before Ortiz fanned Nomar Garciaparra, the majors' leading hitter, to end the inning.

O'Leary reached second when center fielder Anderson dropped his fly ball with one out in the seventh, but Ortiz retired the next two batters including Ed Sprague on an inning-ending strikeout. Ortiz finished by retiring his last eight batters.

Martinez retired the final 13 Anaheim batters after Anderson's fourth-inning single, a grounder up the middle.

Garciaparra went 0-for-4 to drop his batting average to a major league-leading .386.

Game notes
The game lasted just 2 hours, 2 minutes. Ortiz and Martinez each threw 112 pitches. ... The Angels promoted first baseman-outfielder Chris Hatcher, 31, from Triple-A Edmonton of the PCL. Hatcher, acquired from the Chicago Cubs' organization July 28, had 26 homers and 77 RBIs in 95 games at Edmonton and Triple-A Iowa combined this year. ... Salmon has seven homers and 19 RBIs in his last 18 games. ... Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and his fiancee, Vanessa Laine, attended the game and received a warm reception from the crowd when shown on the Jumbotron. ... Anaheim right-hander Matt Wise will make his first big league start Wednesday night against the Red Sox, becoming the 12th Angels' pitcher to start a game this season. ... Anaheim left-hander Kent Mercker, who suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while pitching against Texas on May 11, is scheduled to make his return Saturday against the New York Yankees.
 


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