NEW YORK — Pedro Martinez had everything he wanted — the stage, the moment and 50,000 fans chanting his name. But the one thing he didn’t have was what he needed most of all — his fastball.

From the very first pitch he threw, Martinez reached back and seemed surprised at what he had — or didn’t have. There was no velocity, marginal control and no margin for error. And mostly, there was no way for him to get Hideki Matsui out.
Martinez labored through four innings, unable to live up to the hype of the moment, giving up four runs in four innings before heading to the bench and calling it a night and maybe a career.
“I’m extremely proud,” Martinez said as he escaped the clubhouse and headed down the hallway. “No regrets.”
At times Martinez has seemed to exist on smarts, but operating on full rest with two stellar postseason outings already, the Phillies and Martinez were counting on more.
Before the game, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel spoke optimistically about what he would get from Martinez, who was signed by the Phillies in July.
“I think Pedro has pitched a little bit better than I thought he would,”
Manuel said. “I think his stuff is a little bit better. I saw him last year, and that’s what I said when I go back, when they mentioned they’d like to sign him, and I think I told (general manager) Ruben Amaro, he’s got to have better stuff and he’s got to be in a little better shape.
“Well, he’s in a lot better shape and he’s got better stuff. He’s done more than I truly expected, really. I felt like if he hadn’t have had an injury kind of late in the season that he might have a chance to be even better. I think the last two games he’s pitched have been real good for him. He’s got good rest, but I think at the same time the more he pitches, the more he gets lengthened out and endurance and everything, and I think tonight he has a chance to throw a real good game. I know he wants to.”
Wanting to mattered little because Martinez just didn’t have the arsenal to get it done. He set the Yankees down in order in the first inning — although Mark Teixeira flew out to the track in right field. But in the second inning, Martinez walked Alex Rodriguez on four pitches leading off and that brought up Hideki Matsui.
While Martinez has pitched well against Matsui in the regular season, the postseason has been a far different story — the numbers now read 4-for-4 with a walk and two homers against Martinez. And it was Matsui who was in the middle of the controversial decision by Grady Little to let Martinez stay on the mound in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series — the batter than Little let Martinez talk him into letting him face. But Matsui doubled then, followed by a Jorge Posada single and a three-run lead disappeared.
It seemed almost a carbon copy this time around. Matsui worked Martinez through an eight-pitch at-bat, rifling one ball into the seats just to the right of the foul pole down the rightfield line, and then finally got a ball that hung up in the zone and he crushed it for a two-run home run.
Martinez got the next three batters in order and got the first out of the third inning before Derek Jeter lined a ball to center that Shane Victorino misplayed into a base hit. Martinez then walked Johnny Damon and hit Teixeira, loading the bases. Martinez got Rodriguez looking on three pitches, but with lefthander J.A. Happ warming up, Manuel let Martinez stay in to face Matsui again.
This time Matsui fell behind 0-2 and when Martinez tried to sneak a fastball high past him, Matsui calmly lined it into center field for a two-run single. Martinez got Posada for the final out of the third and set the Yankees down in order in the fifth, but the damage was already done.
“Pedro, he knows how to pitch,” Manuel said afterward. “He’s got experience. He knows how to pitch. You know, I had to let him face that guy. Also, when we were down, if Matusi got a hit, of course, we can do down 4-1 and we can definitely rebound there. But I had to let him — it wasn’t time for me to take him out.”