Martinez strikes out 11 in what he hopes is last rehab start for Phillies

READING - The rehab tour that Pedro Martinez has been on since signing with the Phillies has taken him from Clearwater to the Lehigh Valley to Lakewood and, last night, to Reading.

It's been a lot of car rides and hotel restaurants and unfamiliar beds. That could be quite taxing on a 37-year-old pitcher and Martinez admitted he needs some rest. His outing last night for the Reading Phillies at FirstEnergy Stadium just might go a long way toward getting him some stability - as in a spot with the parent club.

Martinez struck out 11 in seven innings, throwing 82 pitches, 60 of them for strikes. He struck out nine of the first 12 hitters he faced and ended the night giving up five hits (four singles and a home run), three earned runs and no walks in what turned into an 8-4 win over the Trenton Thunder. The last six fastballs Martinez threw on the night were in the low 90s.

"Physically I was a little weak, not as strong as I expected to be," Martinez said. "It's been a hard week, but that's OK. It's part of the game. I got better [as the game went on]. I still have to do a little bit more work."

Whether that work will be done in Philly or someplace else has yet to be determined. Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro and special assistant Charley Kerfeld were seated in the fourth row behind home plate and witnessed Martinez' mostly dominant performance.

It might be a good idea for Phillies manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee to get out to Pattison Avenue after a game and learn how to direct traffic - because there soon could be a huge logjam of starting pitchers on their ballclub.

"After I rest a little bit and settle down, I hope I can do better," Martinez said. "I just hope I can improve. I thought I improved from the last time. Hopefully now, having a little time back in Philly in my next bullpen session [perhaps tomorrow], I'll work a little bit better and have more time to work. Just continue to improve and rest a little bit at the same time."

It appeared Martinez would come out and pitch in the seventh inning, but Reading sent seven batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth in scoring three runs and the long time on the bench for Martinez ended his night, as it did for many of the soldout crowd of 9,953, a record for the 58-year-old park.

He kept Thunder hitters off-balance with a variety of off-speed pitches, while masterfully mixing in fastballs that hovered around 90 mph and got as high as 93.