Pedro Martínez relishes 3000th strikeout

In his return to the mound, Martínez worked five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits as New York defeated Cincinnati 10-4.

“It’s been awhile since I could say that I’m good enough to pick up a ball tomorrow and go right back out there and do it again,” Martínez said. “I’m going to continue to work hard. If I work hard, it will obviously pay off. I’m not done yet.”

Martínez came into the game with 2,998 strikeouts. In the bottom of the first, he allowed a pair of runs and didn’t record a strikeout. But in the second, he turned in a 1-2-3 frame, getting Scott Hatteberg to strike out swinging, retiring Edwin Encarnación on a flyout and then fanning Reds pitcher Aaron Harang for No. 3,000.

Martínez’s battery mate Paul Lo Duca, seemingly unaware of the milestone, rolled the ball back to the mound as the inning came to an end. But Martínez quickly scooped it up and brought it back to the dugout with him for safekeeping.

Martínez’s fastball velocity was down, but he pitched with finesse and, backed by the Mets offense, delivered the win in his 2007 debut, as he threw 76 pitches – one more than the planned 75.

In his return to the team, Martínez was starting to look like the Mets’ good luck charm. Since he had rejoined the club in Atlanta four days earlier, the Mets had rattled off four straight wins.

“Everyone’s starting to call me lucky charm,” Martínez said.

But it may have been more than luck. To teammates, the influence of Martínez was undeniable.

“He’s a shot of life in the clubhouse,” Mets third baseman David Wright said. “Guys flock to him. Guys rally around him for just being Pedro.”