No one has to remind Lou Piniella of how difficult it is to beat Pedro Martinez. A Piniella team has never beaten the Boston Red Sox ace, however, the new manager of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays can't think of a better time to end that streak than today's opener.

"He's extremely tough," Piniella said Sunday. "But this is a new situation."

Martinez was 10-0 with an 0.94 ERA against Seattle while Piniella was enjoying a highly successful stint as manager of the Mariners.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner is 7-2 with a 2.29 ERA against the Devil Rays, including 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA last year.

• San Francisco's Barry Bonds appears ready for today's opener against San Diego. Bonds hit 10 homers during spring games, breaking his own team record of nine, set in 2000.

Bonds has always teed off on the Padres. He has 70 career homers against the Padres, his most against any team.

Of his 119 homers the last two seasons, Bonds hit 18 against San Diego.

• Arizona's Randy Johnson begins his quest for a sixth Cy Young Award, and fifth in a row, when he starts against the Dodgers today.

Johnson won the NL's pitching triple crown with the most strikeouts (334), best ERA (2.32) and most victories (24) last season.

• The Expos open what could be their final season in Montreal with a three-game series against the Braves in Atlanta today. The Expos play their first 19 games on the road, including 10 at Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico, their second home this season.

Their first game in Montreal is April 22 against Arizona.