Day-After Exam Clears Pedro Martinez to Pitch

Mets trainers found SP Pedro Martinez had passed his first test, as the ailing ace felt strong the day following his first spring outing. Martinez pitched three scoreless innings, giving up a hit and two walks on 35 pitches on Sunday. But the key measure of his condition was determined largely by how he felt on the trainers table the following day, and whether his specially built shoe was successfully protecting his strained big toe. Based on that evaluation, Martinez was cleared for another spring outing Friday, and likely would appear in an official game on a limited pitch count by the second weekend in April.