BOSTON -- As he jogged in from the Fenway Park bullpen Tuesday night, Justin Martinez had a familiar feeling.
"It felt like when I debuted," the right-hander said.
This wasn't a debut for Martinez, it was a return to action, something that has been a long time coming for him and the Diamondbacks.
It had been 435 days since Martinez last took the mound. In that time, the 25-year-old underwent the second Tommy John surgery of his career and spent countless hours working his way back for this moment.
Given that it was his second surgery, the Diamondbacks were extra cautious in how they brought Martinez back.
"A lot of patience," Martinez said of what it took to rehab a second time. "It was a lot of time out of this game, and I didn't try to like rush. I didn't try to come back early, because I know that I have to be smart on this one and just believe in the trainers and do my best."
Command was one of Martinez's biggest challenges during his rehab. When Arizona manager Torey Lovullo checked in on Martinez after one of his Minor League rehab appearances, he was impressed by how honest Martinez was about needing to improve his command before being activated.
Tuesday night against the Red Sox, Martinez entered in the eighth inning of what would be a 9-4 loss and worked a scoreless inning.
While he kept the Red Sox off the board, Martinez knows there's still work to be done as he allowed a walk and hit a batter while throwing 19 pitches (nine strikes).
"I would say could have been better, could have been worse," Martinez said. "Thank God I got out of there without a lot of damage, but I need to keep working on my command, my delivery and keep doing what I've been doing."
For now, Martinez will likely pitch in low-leverage situations as he works his way back. The Diamondbacks have had success using Brandyn Garcia, Kevin Ginkel, Jonathan Loáisiga and Juan Morillo at the back end of games.
But just seeing Martinez back on the mound was a bright spot for Lovullo on an otherwise disappointing night.
"It was great, and I congratulated him and just said, 'Thank you for working so hard to be back here,'" Lovullo said. "And he had a nice smile on his face as he walked in and settled in a little bit. But he was competing, and that's the most important thing. I saw that familiar face out there, that delivery and that stuff. It was fun to watch."