NEW YORK Bryan Hoch -- Pedro Martinez stood on the mound at Shea Stadium, his workload abruptly complete after 20 outs and just under two hours of pitching. What began as a beautiful day in the ace right-hander's eyes had the potential to turn into an extremely pleasant evening -- a milestone of baseball history, with the difference of Martinez's 200th career victory now teetering on a one-run margin.

If this night was going to become Martinez's, he'd need a little help. So Martinez waited on the bump at Shea, joining 36,867 companions as they watched reliever Duaner Sanchez make the long trot in from the right-field bullpen.

It was an unfamiliar scene, to be sure -- Martinez has never been lifted in the middle of an inning since trading his Boston Red Sox colors for a Mets uniform.

So imagine Sanchez's surprise when Martinez pounded a fist into his chest, saying, "Let's go. It's your time," and trotted off the field, pointing to the sky and raising his hands to both baselines, bathing in warm waves of emotion and applause.

"One of the best moments of my career," Sanchez said. "Pedro Martinez waited for me on a mound. What else do you need? If anyone needs anything else, they've got issues."

With that preface, Sanchez set down four straight Braves before Billy Wagner sealed the game in the ninth inning. The relief performances lifted Martinez to victory No. 200 and one peg closer to Cooperstown.

"This is probably one of the biggest things that happened in my career," Martinez said. "How far away I've come from the first day, and all the doubts, and second-guessing my body type, and all that. It's just something I really should go and reflect about for the rest of my life, I think."

The 103rd pitcher in baseball history to record 200 victories, Martinez's journey to the milestone has been a delightful ride, beginning with the first one back on May 5, 1993, when the unknown skinny young man fired two innings of scoreless relief against the Mets in Los Angeles.

It has also been a dominant one, placing him in some select historical company. Only three pitchers in Major League history had less than 84 losses at the time of their 200th victory: Lefty Grove (83), Whitey Ford (79) and 1800s pitcher Bob Caruthers (74).

Now, better make that four.

"Pedro's special," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "He's a great all-time pitcher, a Hall of Famer. It's amazing. He just keeps rolling and rolling."

Monday, a cool, bright day in New York that Martinez said made him feel "light" and "positive," morphed into a celebration of the ace and his eccentric, entertaining ways.

The Mets announced that more than 13,000 tickets had been sold on the day of the game, no doubt an acknowledgement of Martinez, and some fans even dressed the part.

About a dozen die-hards in the upper deck arrived outfitted in sombreros and false mustaches, waving a banner proclaiming them as "Pedro's Compadres." The rest simply dressed the ballpark with chants of, "Pedro! Pedro! Pedro!"

With that buildup, Martinez said he felt obligated to give the masses what they had ventured to Flushing for. It was not his finest performance, but he was fine enough, delivering 6 2/3 innings of three-run, six-hit ball against a tortuous division rival.

"Today, people came out and I don't think they wanted it any other day," Martinez said. "They wanted it today. It looked like that, it felt like that. Even though I seemed to have everything going the wrong way, for some reason, I felt confident. I felt fresh. I felt like we were going to win it all the way."

And once Todd Pratt swung and missed at a Wagner pitch in the ninth inning, all that was left was for catcher Paul Lo Duca to pick up the baseball, delivering it safely to first base.

The celebration was on, with suddenly-bilingual scoreboards flashing, "¡Felicitaciones! Pedro por tu Victoria 200!"

"It's amazing to have played a hand for one of the best pitchers in the world," said shortstop Jose Reyes. "It's like a dream come true. It's awesome."

As Tina Turner's "Simply the Best" blared from the sound system, Martinez traded customary post-victory handshakes for hugs, a bottle of Champagne waiting in his locker and a blue "Martinez 200" banner hanging behind a podium.

And as Martinez grinned awkwardly, holding up three baseballs for photographers -- one marked with a 2, the other adorned with zeroes -- one couldn't help but imagine it as an ideal ending to what Martinez had earlier described as a perfect day.

"It was an honor to be a part of it," Lo Duca said. "I'm glad he got it out of the way. Now, it's on to 300."

Bryan Hoch is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.