Martínez pulls off 'play of the game' with pivotal 96.8 mph OF assist

CLEVELAND -- There tend to be a few moments that ultimately matter when a ballgame is decided by one run. For the Guardians, one of those came in the second inning on Friday.

Guardians left fielder Angel Martínez picked up an outfield assist to end the top of second, when he fired a strike to cut down Red Sox catcher Mickey Gasper at home plate. It helped the Guardians win, 4-3, in the opener of a three-game series at Progressive Field.

“Angel’s throw was the play of the game,” manager Stephen Vogt said.

At 96.8 mph, the throw was Martínez’s fastest-tracked assist in the Majors. The 24-year-old also hit an RBI single in the first inning, when the Guardians sent all nine hitters to the plate and scored four runs on six singles and one sacrifice fly.

Boston gained some momentum back when Gasper hit a two-out double in the second. It looked like Guardians starter Slade Cecconi would get out of the inning unscathed when Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a ground ball to shortstop Brayan Rocchio. But the ball got under Rocchio’s glove and trickled into left field, and Gasper got the green light to try to score.

Martínez noted the Guardians’ outfielders are taught to anticipate a bad hop or a bad throw with balls in play on the infield. He began running forward as the ball approached Rocchio, and he entered a sprint when the ball got by him.

“In my mind, it was like he was gonna catch it, but also that anything could happen,” Martínez said. “So I’ve gotta be there.”

Martínez corralled the ball and, after a slight pause, fired a strike on the fly to Guardians catcher Patrick Bailey, a throw which beat a sliding Gasper by several feet. It marked Martínez’s fifth outfield assist this season, a new career high after he logged four in 2025.

“It was aggressive,” Red Sox manager Chad Tracy said. “It looked like Mickey slowed a little bit going into third, and give credit to a perfect throw right on the money to get him.”

Asked if he was surprised by how much his throw beat Gasper, Martínez smiled and said, “I’ve got a good arm.”

Martínez slotted in left field on Friday, where he has made his most appearances this season (37), ahead of right field (20). That has been one of the effects of Steven Kwan (who went on the bereavement/family medical emergency list on Friday) adding center field to his tool kit this year. In 2025, Martínez saw his most time in center field (114 games), with just four combined appearances in the corners.

Martínez played some left field growing up, but he was a middle-infield prospect in the Guardians’ farm system. He didn’t play outfield until 2024; Cleveland moved him out there in part to open an avenue of playing time for him in the Majors.

Martínez felt confident in his arm strength translating to the outfield. The biggest adjustment he faced has been the tempo transitioning between fielding a ball and when he throws it. That was something he really focused on this past offseason, and an area he feels he’s improving.

Preparing to play corner outfield was another focal point of Martínez’s offseason; Vogt noted he also emphasized his first step and the angles on which he plays balls. Martínez also works daily pregame with outfield and baserunning coach J.T. Maguire.

The Guardians’ outfield picture was one of their biggest question marks over the winter; there was a lot of uncertainty beyond Kwan. Chase DeLauter was widely expected to be a major part of the equation, and he has been. Martínez was less of a certainty, but has been a bright spot as the schedule approaches June.

We’ve seen that offensively, but don’t forget about his defense.

“He's really owning this role of being able to play both corner spots, particularly left field,” Vogt said. “He has just been phenomenal out there, and it's not an easy left field to play with the [19-foot] high wall, the angles. But he's really taken to it.”

The Guardians did not score after the first inning. Relievers Colin Holderman, Tim Herrin, Shawn Armstrong, Hunter Gaddis and Cade Smith (who recorded his 17th straight save and MLB-leading 20th overall) pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Cecconi.

Five of the Guardians’ past seven wins have been by one run. They’ll take them any way they can get them. They’d also like to get them more comfortably.

“I love that Cade’s got 20 saves,” Vogt said. “I hope he ends up with as many as possible. But we need to be better. We need to extend leads.”