BIP FINALLY BREAKS UP SHOT AT PERFECTO BY PEDRO

Contrary to popular belief, the Padres are no strangers to no-hitters. They’ve been on the receiving end 10 times. None of those, however, was as pristine as the gem that a future Hall of Famer was polishing on this date — June 3 — in 1995.

Pedro Martinez retired the first 27 hitters he faced. If the Expos had been able to score a run in the first nine innings against Padres starter Joey Hamilton, their 23-year-old ace would have recorded the 15th perfect game in baseball history.

Montreal finally scored a run in the top of the 10th against reliever Brian Williams, but Bip Roberts pulled a low Martinez change-up to right field for a leadoff double in the bottom of the inning.

“That’s as good as I’ve seen anybody throw a game here at The Murph,” Padres right fielder Tony Gwynn told the Union-tribune afterward.

Added Roberts: “I was lucky to hit it in a spot. He was a dominant pitcher.”

Reliever Mel Rojas came in and retired Steve Finley, Gwynn and Ken Caminiti in order to end the game, played before just 9,707 fans on a Saturday night.

The performance is one of 12 in baseball history by pitchers who threw nine innings of no-hit ball only to allow a hit in extra innings.

Martinez became an Allstar for the first time in 1996 and the next year led the majors with a 1.90 ERA, the first of five ERA crowns.

He won the first of his three Cy Young awards that year but was traded after the season to Boston, where he pitched for the next seven seasons and went 117-37 with a 2.52 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and averaged almost 11 strikeouts per nine innings.

He finished his career back in the NL, pitching four seasons with the Mets and nine games with the Phillies. He was 10-4 with a 3.16 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP and 125 strikeouts in 131 innings in 25 career appearances (18 starts) against the Padres.

The year before the game in San Diego, Martinez flirted with a perfect game for the first time when he hit the Reds’ Reggie Sanders with a pitch with one out in the eighth.

Incredibly, Sanders charged the mound.

Martinez finished the inning but allowed a leadoff single to Brian Dorsett in the ninth.

He never did throw a nohitter in his Hall of Fame career.

jeff.sanders@sduniontribune.com