CLEVELAND -- Nick Martinez didn’t quite know what to do with himself during the first three games of the American League Championship Series.
He spent Game 1 sitting in the Rays' bullpen. He didn’t care for it. He moved to the dugout for Game 2, then found a spot on the bench for Game 3, but he kept his cleats on in case the Rays needed him to pitch.
“Whatever the team needs,” Martinez said Thursday morning, “I’m up for it.”
That kind of flexibility could come in handy soon. After Game 3 was moved up to a 1 p.m. start on Thursday to avoid inclement weather, the forecast calls for persistent rain throughout the day on Friday. And that, obviously, could interfere with the Rays’ and Guardians’ plans to play Game 4 at Progressive Field as scheduled.
If there is a game on Friday, Martinez is expected to pitch for Tampa Bay. Of course, those plans could change if Game 4 is pushed back a day. That would potentially allow the Rays to start ace Drew Rasmussen in Game 4 on normal rest, if they wanted. Cleveland’s plans, meanwhile, were unsettled on Thursday due to the weather.
“Obviously, with everything up in the air for tomorrow, we're going to be prepared to play whatever time, whatever place,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said after the Guardians’ 3-2 win in Game 3. “Our guys stay ready.”
The same could be said for Martinez, the likely choice to start Game 4 all along after Rasmussen, Freddy Peralta and Griffin Jax handled the first three games. Given the nature of the postseason, though, the Rays made Martinez available out of the bullpen to begin this series.
That was just fine with the 36-year-old Martinez, who bounced between the rotation and bullpen for much of his career before settling into the Rays’ rotation and making a career-high 31 starts this season.
“A little bit different this year because I've started all year, but nothing new in my career, right? Just all hands on deck, especially this time of year,” Martinez said. “Every out is important. It doesn't matter when you get them.”
As for the additional layer of weather-related uncertainty hanging over Game 4? Martinez took that in stride, too -- literally.
“I didn't even know about it until the walk over here,” Martinez said, smiling. “We're just going to take it as we go, right? Not much you can control about that. Just be ready to go.”
If Game 4 is played as scheduled on Friday, the Guardians’ primary option might be a bullpen game with lefty Joey Cantillo and right-handers Tanner Bibee and Slade Cecconi factoring in.
Cantillo, Bibee and Cecconi were in Cleveland’s rotation this season, but none have started a game recently. Cantillo’s final regular-season start was Sept. 7, and command issues prompted the Guardians to have Daniel Espino serve as an opener for him the next three turns through the rotation.
Cantillo has pitched twice this postseason, in Game 3 of the ALDS and Game 1 of the ALCS on Monday. He threw 17 pitches in the latter. But given his workload over the past month, whether he could contribute more than a few innings is questionable.
That might be even more true for Bibee, who has tossed 15 pitches over one-third of an inning this postseason, in relief in Game 4 of the ALDS on Oct. 8. Cecconi made his postseason debut in ALCS Game 2, throwing 16 pitches over one scoreless inning.
Cleveland moved Cecconi to the bullpen in August after he made 21 starts, following its addition of Foster Griffin. If Game 4 is moved to Saturday, Griffin could take the ball on normal rest. The Guardians’ ALCS Game 1 starter threw 63 pitches and allowed two runs over four innings on Monday.
Speaking before Game 3, Rays manager Kevin Cash said he’s been told Friday is “going to be a pretty rain-filled day,” but MLB officials were hoping the forecast for Friday night would improve. It turned out that way on Thursday, which turned out to be a beautiful afternoon for baseball.
The ALCS schedule would theoretically allow the two teams to take off Friday, if the weather is deemed unplayable, then play Games 4 and 5 at Progressive Field the next two days. Sunday is a scheduled off-day for the teams to travel back to St. Petersburg, but they could play that day instead then roll straight into Game 6, if necessary.
“Just got to control what you can control,” Guardians Game 3 starter Gavin Williams said. “We have no say, so if the game gets moved up or gets moved back, just got to focus on ourselves and do the job we know how to do and not let anything else impact us.”
The Rays’ rotation has adopted that mindset since the regular season ended, weather or not. Knowing their roles could be flexible, aside from Game 1 starter Rasmussen, the other four starters followed Martinez’s lead and vowed to pitch whenever, wherever, in whatever role.
“I think it speaks to the mentality of all of us, just being on the same page, understanding how important these games are, how important every out is and the willingness we all have just to contribute in any way possible,” said Martinez, who started Game 3 of the AL Division Series at Yankee Stadium and pitched well in an abbreviated outing, holding the Yankees to two runs on five hits over 3 2/3 innings. “I think that speaks more to our mentality as a group and understanding just the importance of all of these games.”