BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : DODGERS : Martinez Basks in His Glory

Ramon Martinez, after pitching baseball’s first no-hitter Friday night, walked into his house in time to hear the phone ringing off the hook and see the message machine blinking.

He had 10 messages waiting, including a four-minute message from little brother Pedro Martinez of the Montreal Expos, and fielded eight telephone calls before finally falling asleep at 2 in the morning.

“Everybody was going crazy,� said Martinez, “especially people back home [in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic]. I woke up at 6 and couldn’t go back to sleep. I was too excited.�

The folks from the Dominican Republic were most interested in the final at-bat with Quilvio Veras, who’s also from Martinez’s hometown. Veras was the final obstacle in Martinez’s no-hit bid with two out in the ninth.

“They said if Quilvio got a hit, they going to kill him,� Martinez said.

Said Veras: “Hey, I believe him.�

Martinez: “I know he wanted to break it up. When I saw him walk to the plate, he was looking at me real mean. I said, ‘OK, let’s go. If he’s going to hit it, he’s going to hit it.’ �

Veras: “Actually, I was laughing inside. I knew what he was thinking, and he knew what I was thinking. I’m happy for him though. He’s a great guy.�

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Martinez became the final member of the Dodger rotation to pitch a shutout, and remarkably, pitched his first complete game of the season. Martinez pitched nine innings May 31 against the Philadelphia Phillies, but the Dodgers didn’t win the game until the 10th.

“I think this game will do a lot for Ramon and his confidence,� said Fred Claire, Dodger executive vice president. “It’s the type of game that really can turn around his season.�

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Catcher Mike Piazza, on catching his first no-hitter: “It was totally awesome, dude. I had a lot of fun with it. I wasn’t nervous at all.

“We quit calling anything but fastballs after the third inning. I was thinking about calling something different in the sixth, but then I thought, ‘Why chance it.’

“Then, when we got to the eighth, I knew it was crazy to call anything else.�

Martinez, by the way, reached a three-ball count on only four batters.

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How big a moment was Martinez’s no-hitter? Dodger President Peter O’Malley came downstairs to personally congratulate Martinez. The Dodgers say it’s the first time they can remember O’Malley entering the clubhouse after a regular-season game.