DODGERS : A Third Martinez Makes His Pitch

VERO BEACH, Fla. —  A Martinez was on the mound Tuesday, throwing batting practice at Dodgertown. But this time it wasn’t Ramon or Pedro. It was their younger brother, Jesus, a left-hander who was signed when he was 16 and spent last season with two rookie clubs. Ramon and Pedro are right-handers.

Jesus Martinez, now almost 19, finished his stint, then went to receive the private tutelage of Manager Tom Lasorda, another left-hander, who spent about 45 minutes teaching the youngster to throw a breaking ball.

“If Jesus stays healthy, he will be the best pitcher of all the brothers because he has better mechanics right now . . . than the other two did (at this stage),” said Ralph Avila, the Dodgers’ vice president in charge of the club’s baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, where the Martinez brothers live.

Ramon, 24, and Pedro, 21, are the fourth brother combination to play for the same Dodger teams. Pedro spent the final month of last season with the Dodgers and is competing for a spot in the starting rotation.

The other brother combinations were outfielders Lloyd and Paul Waner on the 1944 Brooklyn Dodgers, pitcher Larry and catcher Norm Sherry from 1959-62, and second baseman Steve and catcher Dave Sax from 1982-83.

The Dodgers have never had three brothers playing at the same time, but Lasorda said the Martinez brothers will eventually be teammates in Los Angeles.

“Jesus has real good stuff, and he will be pitching in the major leagues with his brothers for a long time,” Lasorda said.

In six starts at Great Falls, Mont., last season, Jesus was 0-3 with a 13.26 earned-run average, with 23 strikeouts and 21 walks in 18 1/3 innings. He was better at St. Lucie, Fla., going 1-4 with a 3.29 ERA and striking out 39 batters in 41 innings, with only 11 walks.

Also in camp is infielder Angel Jaime, first cousin of the Martinez brothers. He played with Jesus at Great Falls last season, batting .271 in 62 games, with 34 runs batted in and 21 stolen bases.

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Former relief pitcher Kent Tekulve spent the morning instructing three of the club’s minor league relievers who pitch submarine style.

Tekulve said that Todd Williams, one of the club’s top prospects, has an outstanding fastball with a late, sharp break, and was throwing in the 90-m.p.h. range.

“When you see someone with something that good, the best thing is to leave it alone,” Tekulve said. “I worked with Todd on his off-speed stuff, his slider, to give him more pitches.”

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Starting Monday, single-game tickets for the 1993 season will go on sale at Dodger outlets. The home opener is April 13 against the St. Louis Cardinals. . . . The Dodgers will play an intrasquad game today.