Pedro Martínez (21-4) won his 21st game on Friday, with an impressive performance that brands him as the best pitcher in Major League baseball today. He used his assortment of fastballs, curves and change-ups and struck out a record 17 New York Yankees and allowed only one hit, a home run in the second inning. From then on he retired the next 22 batters, setting a career high for strikeouts and matching his best low-hit game ever. Martínez lead the Boston Red Sox to defeat the New York Yankees 3-1. The Red Sox now trail the American League leading Yankees by 4 games. Martínez is the Major League pitcher with the most wins and ERA (2.20) and tops the American League in strikeouts (274).
