By BART HUBBUCH
Last updated: 8:29 am
June 28, 2008
Posted: 5:00 am
June 28, 2008
The contrast on the mound at Shea Stadium last night could not have been more stark.
While the Yankees were stumbling upon a possible quality starter in Sidney Ponson, the Mets now have to wonder if that term still applies to Pedro Martinez after the Bombers' 9-0 rout in Game 2 of the two-park doubleheader.
PHOTO GALLERY: Mets - Yankees Doubleheader
VACCARO: Move Over: Baseball Is Coming Through
A journeyman reclamation project signed specifically with yesterday's unique twinbill in mind, Ponson gave the Yanks a split, and ended their three-game skid in the Subway Series, by scattering five hits and striking out four in six shutout innings.
In Game 1, Carlos Delgado's club-record nine RBIs powered the Amazin's to a 15-6 rout, but the Yankees turned the tables completely in the nightcap with the help of Martinez's second straight horrid outing.
Martinez struggled with his control all night, walking a season-high five batters and hitting another, and was knocked around for six runs on six hits before exiting with two outs in the sixth. He labored through 106 pitches, just 65 for strikes. The three-time Cy Young winner, who spent almost all of the season's first two months on the disabled list with strained hamstring, fell to 2-2 but saw his ERA balloon almost a full run to 7.12 thanks to the opportunistic Yankees.
"I'm not doing my job, and that's something to worry about," Martinez said. "I'm not helping myself in any given situation out there. It's time for me to start getting better and not getting worse, and it seems like I'm getting worse."
The Game 2 storyline followed a completely different arc for Ponson, the troubled right-hander who had won four of five decisions for Texas this season before being abruptly jettisoned for off-field issues. The Yankees were expecting little from the husky native of Aruba, but Ponson could now up taking the rotation spot of Dan Giese.
"It starts with the starting pitcher and Sidney was great," said Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who wasn't yet ready to announce his plans for Ponson.
