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BOSTON (Ticker) -- The saying goes you can't keep a good man down and Pedro Martinez is about as good as it gets.

Martinez snapped a five-start winless stretch against the Yankees, striking out 13 over eight innings as the Boston Red Sox notched a split of their two-game series with New York, 3-0.

The two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner scattered four singles and a walk. Martinez (7-1) reached double digits in strikeouts for the eighth time in 11 outings this season.

For the second time in six days, Martinez matched up with Yankeees righthander Mike Mussina. On May 24, Mussina and New York got the best of Martinez and the Red Sox, 2-1. But Wednesday, Boston scored twice in the second and its ace never let the Yankees in the game.

"We've had some success against him, gettting a couple of runs, we've hit a home run or two but you can't expect that," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "When you get two or three runs behind it just makes it that much tougher and it gives him that much more room to breath. Every pitch you throw in a one-run game takes a little more out of you, but when you have a three-run lead you're allowed a mistake or two, even though he doesn't allow that many."

"Pedro has pitched outstanding against this team every time out ... maybe they have pitched a little bit better and because every game he's been in he's kept us in and we've had a chance to win it and they've all been low-scoring games," Red Sox manager Jimy Williams said.

Derek Lowe allowed a base hit in the ninth but struck out Paul O'Neill to record his sixth save.

"Following Pedro, facing the Yankees at Fenway with the game on the line and the crowd booing you," Lowe said. "But I was happy with my outing. I got the outs I needed and we won the game. If I were a fan, with the way I've pitched and the way Pedro has pitched, I'd boo too."

Mussina (5-5) allowed three runs -- two earned -- and four hits in eight innings. He walked three and struck out 11.

"He was great. That was a winning effort tonight and if it weren't for Pedro out there that is a winning effort," Torre added.

The rivals meet again Monday and Martinez and Mussina are slated to face each other again.

"When you're going up Pedro coming off a game where you know he didn't do his best you knew he was going to go out and have a pretty good game, I tried to stay with him," Mussina said. "Once again, great stuff that is why he is the best pitcher in the league."

The Yankees actually got a walk and a single in the second inning but they were sandwiched around a double play by Tino Martinez.

Boston scored twice in the second with the help of sloppy defense. Manny Ramirez led off with a sharp grounder to third that former Gold Glove Award winner Scott Brosius booted for his 11th error of the season.

Troy O'Leary followed with a double off the left-field wall and one out later Brian Daubach lofted a two-base hit into the gap in right-center field for a 2-0 lead. Mussina rebounded to retire John Valentin and Jason Varitek.

"It was a curveball that he left up," Daubach said. "It was just good to get Pedro some runs early. You get Pedro two or three runs early."

"It hurts, it hurt tonight to give Pedro a two-run advantage early," Brosius said. "You'd like to at least be playing even or trying to get something on him first to make him pitch from behind."

Staked to the lead, Martinez struck out two in the third and Boston tacked on a run in the third. Jose Offerman singled, was bunted over and scored on Carl Everett's base hit off the wall.

Martinez struck out two more in the fourth, fifth and sixth. New York got a two-out single in the seventh but Martinez retired Jorge Posada on a grounder to first to end the inning.

"In the third and fourth innings," said Martinez, "I had good command. I was getting ahead early in the count. But you can never relax with the Yankees. I have to give them credit, they keep battling all game and tonight was no different."

Chuck Knoblauch singled with two outs in the eighth but Martinez ended his night in fine fashion, striking out Derek Jeter swinging.

Boston loaded the bases in the eighth but Ramirez fouled out. Ramirez, who leads the American League with 56 RBI in 50 games, has gone six games without one.