CINCINNATI – Orlando Hernandez will go at least 10 days between starts, as he’ll miss both the Reds series this week and the Astros series this coming weekend.
Willie Randolph said yesterday that El Duque, who is suffering from a sore tendon in his right foot, likely will pitch sometime next week. That means Hernandez will take the hill against either the Braves or Phillies, whom the Mets play in succession beginning next Monday at Shea.
Hernandez hasn’t pitched since last Thursday in Philadelphia. With El Duque out, Mike Pelfrey will pitch Friday against the Astros.
*
The scouting report on the Reds, as it turned out, didn’t need to be reviewed by Pedro Martinez before yesterday’s game. Paul Lo Duca was in charge of that.
Before stepping on the mound yesterday, Martinez approached Lo Duca, and according to the catcher, Martinez told him, “I’m going with you. You know these guys.”
“I think that was more, he just said he wanted to take that out of the equation,” Lo Duca said, “and just let him pitch.”
*
Martinez said he is pitching now from “a little higher” arm angle than he used prior to getting hurt.
“Sometimes I’ll just get down on some pitches. And those are bad habits that would just pop up sometimes,” he said. “I’m making adjustments and I could tell you, I’ll be the first one to tell you, that I’m not as consistent as I used to be with any arm angle, mechanics, the strike zone. I’ll be the first one to tell you that I’m not there yet.”
Martinez also said regarding his health: “Until I get four or five starts here in the big leagues, I won’t be able to tell you whether I’m off the hook or not.”
*
Moises Alou had a monster game yesterday, going 3-for-3 with a walk and two doubles. He also blasted a solo homer that traveled 467 feet, which is the second-longest homer at Great American Ball Park this year. . . . Heading into yesterday, Luis Castillo was in a 1-for-19 funk, but he broke out of that pretty fast. Castillo had three hits, including two doubles, and also drew a walk. . . . Martinez is the 15th pitcher to achieve 3,000 strikeouts. . . . Lo Duca batted eighth for the third time this year and the second straight game.