BASEBALL
Martinez return to lineup is a hit
Tribe slugger drives in pair in Herd win
The pain in Victor Martinez's right elbow has nearly vanished.
"It feels nice and loose," Martinez said.
That means the Indians are counting on his power to reappear as Martinez came to Buffalo on Tuesday a different hitter from his feeble-swinged self of two months ago.
Feeling better than he has in the last two years, Martinez drove in a pair of runs in helping lead the Bisons past Lehigh Valley, 10-1, before 9,762 at Dunn Tire Park on a night overflowing with story lines.
Martinez caught six innings and went 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored, Scott Lewis gave up one run on three hits over six innings in his second start with the Herd, Tony Graffanino went 3 for 4 with a three-run triple that keyed a five-run sixth and Jason Cooper made a little history.
Cooper entered his 401st game as a Bison to a standing ovation in the eighth inning as he surpassed Tom Prince to become the franchise's modern era leader in games played.
Yet make no mistake. Only one thing mattered to the Tribe officials in attendance, including assistant general managers Chris Antonetti and John Mirabelli: Martinez finally appeared healthy.
"My body feels great," Martinez said following his first game with the Herd since 2003. "We'll see how it feels [today]. .‚.‚. But I'm very pleased with how it went at the plate tonight."
Martinez made his first rehab start at catcher Tuesday following two games as a designated hitter at Double-A Akron. Before going on the disabled list in June, Martinez could barely throw to second base or reach the warning track with his bat. Now, he says his elbow feels good and .‚.‚. "It looks like he's driving the ball now," Mirabelli said before the game. "He wasn't at all before."
The numbers were startling earlier this year. In 198 at-bats, a guy who hit 25 homers in a 2007 All-Star season, had no long balls, and few besides Martinez knew the problem.
Was it the hamstring injury he suffered early in the season? That was part of it. But little did most know that Martinez had been dealing with pain in his right elbow for two years, and loose bone chips were causing more intense swelling than ever in the spring.
"It was pretty bad," Martinez said.
"We figured out the problem after the fact," Mirabelli said.
Martinez underwent surgery on June 13 to remove the chips from his elbow and missed the next two months. His rehab began at Double-A Akron, where Martinez went 2 for 6 with a homer before reuniting with Buffalo. He will catch nine innings Thursday and then every other day until the Indians feel he's ready.
"I'm just getting my elbow stronger," Martinez said. "Hopefully, I'll be back in a few days."
In his first Bisons at-bat since he hit .328 with seven homers and 45 RBIs in 73 games with the Herd in 2003, Martinez lined out on starter Carlos Carrasco's first-pitch fastball to deep right field. Martinez then walked to lead off the third, and quickly scored on Michael Aubrey's two-run homer to right. In the fifth, hitting with the bases loaded and nobody out, Martinez hit an 0-1 change-up from Carrasco to shallow right field to bring in the runner from third.
His first hit came in the sixth, as Martinez drove in his second run with a single over the second baseman's head.
"He's a hitter," Bisons manager Torey Lovullo said, "whether he's had time off or not."
