CLEVELAND -- With three types of fastballs (four-seamer, cutter and sinker) and a devastating changeup, Nick Martinez has used his vast arsenal to pitch his way to success all season. So the Rays were confident the 36-year-old right-hander would help tie up the American League Championship Series on Saturday night.
Once Martinez took the mound at Progressive Field, that’s what he did.
Martinez tossed 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball in Tampa Bay’s 7-3 win over Cleveland in Game 4 of the best-of-seven ALCS, which is now knotted at 2. The righty allowed only two hits, pitched into the sixth and departed when the Rays had a 2-1 lead, setting them up nicely to secure a critical victory.
Because of Friday’s postponement, Tampa Bay could have sent right-hander Drew Rasmussen to the mound on Saturday on four days of rest. But manager Kevin Cash believed in Martinez’s ability to deliver a strong outing, which would allow the Rays to save Rasmussen to start Game 5 and Freddy Peralta to likely start Game 6.
“We have all the confidence in the world in Nick,” Cash said. “He did a lot of Nick things out there.”
The Guardians’ only damage against Martinez came within the first three batters in the bottom of the first inning. Steven Kwan opened the frame with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch -- a changeup that Martinez spiked in the dirt.
Two batters later, Chase DeLauter gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead with an RBI single to right field -- though he got thrown out at second base trying to stretch it into a double on an amazing sliding stop and throw by right fielder Victor Mesa Jr.
From there, Martinez settled in and cruised. He retired the next 11 batters in order before issuing a one-out walk to Travis Bazzana in the fifth. And after exiting with a runner on first and one out in the sixth, Martinez got picked up by Peralta, who recorded two outs to preserve the Rays’ 2-1 advantage.
“You know it's going to be a dogfight, like I said before the start. They're a team that doesn't give up. We're also a team that doesn't give up,” said Martinez, who earned his first career postseason victory. “Not ideal to give up a run in the first inning, but just got to stay in the fight and trust that my guys are going to back me up.”
The key to how Martinez responded to his early adversity was the changeup -- the same offering he was clearly struggling to locate during his bumpy opening frame.
But Martinez trusted he could get a better feel for it by sticking with the offering, which he did. He threw it 23 times during the 79-pitch outing (his most of any pitch) and used it to induce four of his eight whiffs.
“We just weren't able to get that timing on that changeup,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “It's a stop ball. It just never gets there. He started landing it for strikes, putting it below.”
It was the 11th time in 33 starts this season (including the postseason) that Martinez tossed his change at least 29% of the time.
“He really got it as the game went on,” said Liam Hicks, who has caught eight of Martinez’s starts since the backstop was acquired from the Marlins on Aug. 3. “It’s such a slow, different pitch. A lot of guys -- I know seeing it before from my viewpoint in the box, too -- you just see it and immediately freeze. It’s really tough to get a swing off on it, and then you’re going to be really in front when you do.”
Martinez, a nine-year MLB veteran, was a first-time All-Star this season, recording a 3.10 ERA in 180 innings over 31 regular-season starts. He also allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings in Game 3 of the AL Division Series, which the Rays won to complete a sweep of the Yankees.
It has been arguably the best year of Martinez’s career, and this time out, he stepped up on baseball’s biggest stage of the MLB postseason.
“The guys definitely like playing behind Nick,” Cash said. “There's a quickness to how he goes about it. He works very fast. It's a lot of contact. He doesn't get there via deep counts and strikeouts. It's soft contact that he tries to induce in the first two, three pitches of the at-bat. And any time you've got what you consider your leader out on the mound, you want to do everything that day to help him get a ‘W.’”
That’s what the Rays did. And now, they’re guaranteed to return to Tropicana Field -- perhaps even with a 3-2 ALCS lead if they win Sunday’s Game 5.
“Going back home is huge, man. The fans have been fantastic,” Martinez said. “We've been feeding off their energy all year. It feels good to give them another game and hopefully swing it back in our favor.”