DODGERS NOTEBOOK: LOWE SET TO MEET PEDRO.

Byline: VINCENT BONSIGNORE Staff Writer

Derek Lowe strolled past a reporter standing inside the Dodgers' clubhouse Monday, then stopped and turned around.

``Yes, I'm totally looking forward to pitching against Pedro (today),'' Lowe said.

Lowe's reminder about his matchup with Martinez wasn't really necessary. He's been pumping up the fact he'll pitch against his former Boston teammate since last Friday.

In fact, he was upset when someone jokingly told him a Mets' rainout over the weekend would ruin the matchup.

``Don't tell me that,'' Lowe said. ``I won't come to the ballpark if I'm not pitching against Pedro. I mean it.''

A Lowe boycott won't be necessary. He'll take the mound tonight against the Mets and Martinez at Dodger Stadium in the second game of a three- game series.

When Lowe does, he won't just be facing a pitching he respects greatly, but a former teammate his considers a good friend.

``He was a great teammate, and awesome teammate,'' Lowe said.

Martinez and Lowe played together in 1998-2004, with both leaving Boston via free agency after the Red Sox won the 2004 World Series.

Both played under Dodgers manager Grady Little, who wasn't retained as manager shortly after the Red Sox fell to the New York Yankees in Game7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series. Little and Martinez will forever be linked after Little stuck with Martinez in Game 7 of the series while leading 5-3, only to have Martinez surrender the tying runs.

The Yankees prevailed in extra innings.

Like Lowe, Little is excited about watching Martinez pitch.

``It's always fun to watch Pedro pitch, he's one of the best around,'' Little said.

``Anybody that doesn't enjoy watching him pitch has got to be out of their mind if they call themselves a baseball fan.''

--Cuban pride: Dodgers' reliever Danys Baez didn't hide his pride about watching fellow Cuban Alay Soler pitch for the Mets on Monday. Like Baez -- and Mets pitcher Orlando ``El Duque'' Hernandez -- Soler defected from Cuba to chase his dreams of playing in the major leagues.

``It's a very good feeling because it's so hard for us to get here,'' Baez said. < ``Especially with all the things we have to go through. So for someone like Alay to finally get here, to play in a Major League ballpark and pitch against the best hitters in the world, it's a great feeling.''