Pedro Es Tan Anuncio

Funny how there's a big series going on in the Bronx, yet the one person who really belongs there over anybody was pitching in Miami tonight. And pitch he did. Pedro showed once again why Omar Minaya traveled all the way to the Dominican Republic to woo him, as he defeated the first place Marlins 1-0, throwing 8 innings of blanks in the process.

It not often that you hear the phrase "you have to pitch shutout ball to beat Brian Moehler", but the way he's been pitching, and the way he threw tonight, that's exactly what Pedro had to do and he did it. And in the process he saved another round of headlines wondering why the Mets can't hit. The one run, scored in the fourth via back to back doubles by Cameron and Floyd, was all Pedro needed.

The seminal moment in the game came in the seventh...with Carlos Delgado on second and one out, Juan Encarnacion strode to the plate looking to tie the game. Pitch one: Martinez stays sets at the belt for what seemed like forever. The moment Encarnacion tried to call time, Pedro went into his delivery and fired a strike. Encarnacion beefed with home plate ump Mark Wegner, and at that moment the at bat was over. Pitch two: Encarnacion fouls an inside fastball back. Pitch three: Who says Martinez and Mike Piazza don't work well together? Piazza set up outside for what seemingly was a waste pitch outside. Instead, Martinez throws a back-up slider over the heart of the plate which was dropped by Piazza, which could have meant he was fooled but he didn't look crossed up. Translation: Juan Encarnacion got Punk'd! At-bat over...Encarnacion got himself ejected by Wegner so his night was over...and at that moment you could have called the ball game over.

Pedro fanned 10 Marlins and Braden Looper came in for (gasp!) a 1-2-3 ninth. The road trip just may be saved, but don't forget that the Mets draw Dontrelle Willis and Josh Beckett over the weekend. One win out of the two would be gravy for the series. A sweep? I think you have a better chance of seeing a lawn jockey parade down Roosevelt Avenue with underwear on their heads. But hey, I'm still willing to dream in late May.