FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — His work done, Pedro Martinez walked off the mound and received a bear hug from old friend David Ortiz.

Wearing a broad smile, Martinez pointed skyward. Then he slapped high-fives with teammates who jumped out of the dugout to partake in the celebration.

It was just like old times.

Martinez hasn't landed a major league contract as a free agent, in part because he's 37 and has struggled through three consecutive injury-riddled seasons. Yet the right-hander is still a favorite of baseball fans and is appreciated by his teammates on the Dominican Republic squad, which is preparing for the World Baseball Classic.

As he approached the mound in the fourth inning of an exhibition game Wednesday against the Baltimore Orioles, Martinez was showered by chants of "Pedro! Pedro!" from the pro-Dominican crowd.

The first batter he faced, Ty Wigginton, hit a popup that traveled about 10 feet in front of the plate but dropped untouched — a tainted double. Martinez then gave up an RBI double to Felix Pie and a run-scoring single to Gregg Zaun.

But in the fifth, after walking the leadoff hitter, Martinez struck out two of the next three batters, ending his outing by blowing a called strike past Wigginton.

Almost everyone in the crowd of 4,013 roared their approval, and Ortiz leaped from the dugout to greet his former teammate on the Boston Red Sox.

"Right now we're a team, and it's never going to change between me and Big Papi," Martinez said. "Big Papi is still my brother."

Martinez went 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA in 20 starts for the New York Mets last year, but he looked sharp against the Orioles, considering he had not pitched in a game since Sept. 25.

"Pedro threw well," Dominican Republic manager Felipe Alou said. "It was amazing that a guy who hasn't pitched in a real game for so long can come back and be in the strike zone. Some of the fastballs were good, some of the breaking balls were good."

It was an uplifting performance for Martinez, who performed far better than his pitching line of two innings, three hits, a walk and two strikeouts would indicate.

"I'm still a little bit off on the pitches and getting a feel for the game, but I felt great," he said. "For the first time out in a real, real game, it's really good. I will take it as a plus day."

Asked if his stint with the Dominican team is serving as an audition for the major leagues, he replied, "I wouldn't say I've still got it without proving it. I'm going to go out there every day, try to improve and try to do better. I hope that my health stays the same way because so far, it's perfect. I'm bouncing back from the throwing. I'm doing extremely good."

Martinez was by far the most popular player on a team that includes All-Stars Ortiz, Miguel Tejada, Hanley Ramirez and Jose Guillen. The crowd cheered as he walked to the clubhouse, and many stayed nearly an hour after the game to try to get an autograph.

"It felt great. It fills me up with joy," Martinez said. "I'm extremely happy to see the appreciation the people have, knowing how much I've struggled the past three years. They still have that passion for me and the same belief."

Going into the game, Alou wanted Martinez to show him only one thing: That he's capable of helping the team win the WBC championship.

"I don't need to see Pedro striking out everybody," Alou said. "He's a veteran guy; he knows himself better than anybody. I expect for him to walk off the mound healthy and ready to pitch in the Classic for us."