Baltimore Orioles defeat Boston Red Sox, 12-7

Was it the cold weather?

The Orioles? Whatever it was, it wasn't good. Far below Pedro Martinez's standard, in fact. The Sox ace lasted five innings in last night's 12-7, 11-inning loss to the Orioles, allowing seven runs, eight hits, and four walks.

He had a hard time breaking 90 miles per hour, according to the scoreboard radar reading, and was missing on the outside part of the plate. It was a far cry from last Saturday when he pitched into the eighth inning against ...

Counting on the pitcher with the best winning percentage in Red Sox history turned out to be a dangerous proposition last night. Trying to improve on his unparalleled percentage of .779 (102-29), Pedro Martinez instead committed a nearly unprecedented act of personal futility, putting the Sox in peril as he suffered one of the worst poundings of his storied career.

With Martinez long gone after departing amid a 7-7 deadlock in the fifth inning, the Sox were left to slog...