Yanks beat Phils, but Pedro wins New England

October 30, 9:36 AMBoston Baseball ExaminerSteve Weissman

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Phillies starter Pedro Martinez smiles
after last night's solid outing against
the Yankees. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

The New York Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by the score of 3-1 last night in Game Two of the 2009 World Series, but Philly starter and former Red Sox star Pedro Martinez clearly won New England in the battle for hearts and minds.

From supermarket checkout lines to online blog postings and ‘tweets,’ the region was abuzz with excitement and irony as the former hometown hero took the mound in the Bronx. The backstories were well known, of course – ranging from Yankee-killer to “they’re my daddy” – and for many, the classless way (in this reporter’s humble opinion) Martinez left Boston made it hard to fully invest in the rooting interest.

But once the game began, it was hard not to admire how he has made the adjustment from thrower to pitcher, and how well he fared against a potent New York lineup. Save for two pitches – one of which (resulting in Hideki Matsui’s home run) wasn’t a bad one at all – the game easily could have turned out differently, and it didn’t take long for even the most unforgiving of us to start cheering.

So as the teams travel to Philadelphia for Game Three tomorrow, we thank you, Pedro, for the memories (the good and the not-so-good) that you left behind when you went to the Mets, and for the remarkable performance you turned in last night. It isn’t just that you stifled Yankee hitters well enough to give your team a chance to win. You rekindled emotions that had faded in the glare of two Sox championships, and despite losing the game, you reminded us of how good it feels to be an underdog who ultimately prevails.

Go get ’em tomorrow, you Fightin’ Phils. All of New England is counting on you!