MIAMI – Pedro Martinez heard a pop in his left hamstring last night. Was that the sound of the Mets’ World Series hopes bursting along with it?
A rough season debut for Martinez turned potentially ominous for the Amazin’s in the fourth inning of an eventual 5-4, 10-inning loss to the Marlins at Dolphin Stadium.
Having surrendered a home run in each of the first two innings, Martinez left the game after straining his hamstring on a pitch to the first batter he saw in the fourth, catcher Matt Treanor.
A distraught Martinez, who was limping as he left the stadium, is to fly to New York today for an MRI exam. He wasn’t around to speak with reporters but told manager Willie Randolph he heard a pop in his hamstring and was in considerable pain.
That wasn’t what the Mets wanted to hear from the three-time Cy Young winner after he missed all but the final month of last season while recovering from rotator-cuff surgery.
The Mets went on to lose with two outs in the 10th when Matt Wise, their sixth pitcher of the night, surrendered Robert Andino’s first career homer. But the state of Martinez’s health – not to mention the franchise’s hefty postseason ambitions – were the bigger story.
Both are now officially question marks a mere two games into the schedule.
“We’ve been dealing with injuries since I’ve been here and always picked each other up,” Randolph said. “Pedro’s had his share of injuries since he’s been here, so we’ll just have to keep playing.”
At the very least, Martinez is likely to miss his next start – the final home opener at Shea Stadium, next Tuesday against the rival Phillies. A stint on the disabled list now appears likely, too.
Randolph said the Mets would have a replacement ready right away, with Brooklyn-born Nelson Figueroa at Triple-A New Orleans the likeliest candidate.
“We’ll see how it plays out,” Randolph said. “Hopefully, it’s nothing real serious. But any time a pitcher pulls a hamstring, you’ve got to get it checked out and quiet it down a little bit.”
Martinez exited after throwing a 72 mph curveball to Treanor. It was Martinez’s 57th pitch on a cool, overcast evening that saw the 36-year-old labor from the outset.
As Treanor grounded the pitch to third, Martinez grimaced in pain, grabbing his hamstring first before reaching for his groin as he hopped off the mound.
After huddling with Randolph and a medical crew for a few moments, Martinez was replaced by Jorge Sosa and departed to a loud standing ovation from the large contingent of Mets fans in the crowd of 15,117.
Martinez certainly wasn’t being applauded for this performance, though. He ran into trouble immediately, giving up a single and a homer to the first two batters he faced in the first inning.
Dan Uggla’s shot to left gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead, which they promptly increased when veteran outfielder Luis Gonzalez led off the second with a 424-foot blast to the seats in left-center.
The Mets rallied to tie by the fifth inning, knocking Marlins starter Rick VandenHurk from the game in the process, but could get nothing going the rest of the way against the final five Florida relievers.
“We can’t sit around and feel sorry for ourselves,” said David Wright, whose deep shot to center in the ninth died just short of the fence. “It’s unfortunate, and obviously Pedro is an integral part of our rotation, but we can’t let down.”
bhubbuch@nypost.com
10 INNINGS Marlins 5 Mets 4