Pedro Pitches 5 Good Innings

At Mets.com they write about Pedro Martinez and his latest rehab start:

Being surrounded by familiar faces seemed to do wonders for Martinez. He took his biggest step toward a return to the Mets, holding the Brevard County Manatees to two unearned runs and two hits in five innings for the Class A St. Lucie Mets.

Martinez walked one and struck out four as his fastball topped out at 89 mph, an improvement from his last outing six days ago.

He allowed just two runners over the first four innings -- a hit and a walk. The fifth inning became troublesome only when the St. Lucie shortstop made two errors.

He threw 72 pitches, 52 of them for strikes, and would have stayed in the game longer except for a stiff neck from sleeping awkwardly.