Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Enters in seventh inning
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Martinez allowed one run on three hits and one walk while striking out two over 1.1 innings in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Giants.
The Diamondbacks were up, 5-1, when manager Torey Lovullo had Martinez enter the contest to open the seventh inning. He allowed the first two batters to reach but managed to wriggle out of danger. The right-hander was sent out to start the eighth and was removed after a double and single made it a 5-2 game. It's unclear why Lovullo had his closer enter what would normally be a low-leverage spot. Martinez has pitched at regular intervals over the past week, so it wasn't an issue of rust. Perhaps it was due to Lovullo's desire to end the team's three-game losing skid.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Recovers after leadoff homer
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Martinez picked up the save Sunday against Boston, allowing a solo home run and no walks with one strikeout during the ninth inning.
Martinez inherited a three-run lead in the ninth frame and offered up a solo home run to Tyler O'Neill to start the inning. Martinez was able to shake off the long ball and retired Masataka Yoshida, Connor Wong and Romy Gonzalez in order to secure his sixth save of the season. Martinez emerged as the Diamondbacks' closer in August, and he's 6-for-6 in save opportunities this month. While manager Torey Lovullo said Friday that he wants to get Paul Sewald back to being a closer, the team opted for Martinez in the ninth Sunday. The 22-year-old has been outstanding this season, posting a 2.02 ERA in 58 innings, and, for now, is the favorite to see save opportunities.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Goes 1.2 frames for fifth save
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Martinez earned a save against the Marlins on Wednesday, allowing one run on two hits and one walk while striking out four batters over 1.2 innings.
Martinez was called upon in the eighth inning with the Diamondbacks clinging to a one-run lead and the tying run on second base with one out. He struck out Xavier Edwards and got Geraldo Perdomo to fly out to escape the threat, then returned in the bottom of the ninth after Arizona put up two runs in the top half of the frame. Martinez made things interesting by surrendering a run and allowing the tying run to get to second base on a two-out wild pitch, but the rookie closer ultimately slammed the door with a game-ending strikeout. He's notched a save on consecutive days for the first time in his big-league career and remains the team's top option for save chances with Paul Sewald at least temporarily moved out of the closer role.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Earns fourth save
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Martinez earned the save Tuesday against the Marlins, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
Martinez was called upon to protect a 3-1 lead in the ninth frame and did so on just seven pitches. He suffered losses in each of his past two appearances but has converted all four of his save chances in August. On the season, the 23-year-old owns a stellar 1.79 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 67:29 K:BB across 55.1 innings.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Charged with loss
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Martinez (5-4) was tagged with Sunday's 8-7 extra-innings loss to Tampa Bay. He allowed one unearned run on one hit, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out two over 1.1 innings.
Martinez, who had saves in three of his previous five appearances, was bypassed in the bottom of the 10th with Arizona up by a run. Instead, manager Torey Lovullo rolled with Kevin Ginkel, who was the pitcher of record and allowed the Rays to tie the game. Martinez pitched the the next two frames, wriggling out of a bases-loaded jam in the 11th before ceding the winning run in the 12th. This was the second consecutive appearance in which Martinez was charged with a walk-off loss.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Records save No. 3
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Martinez earned a save against the Rockies on Monday, allowing one hit in a scoreless inning.
Martinez came on in the ninth frame to protect a one-run lead and gave up a single to leadoff batter Michael Toglia. However, the righty reliever then got Jake Cave to ground into a double play before retiring Elias Diaz on a groundout to end the game. Martinez extended his scoreless streak to seven outings and notched his third save in his past four appearances. With each successful outing, he's tightening his grip on the team's closer role.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Snags second save
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Martinez earned the save in a 5-3 win over the Guardians in the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday, working around a hit and a walk while striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning.
Martinez found himself in some trouble in the ninth before ultimately striking out Lane Thomas, who represented the go-ahead run, to seal a 5-3 Arizona victory. The 23-year-old Martinez has been entrusted with back-to-back save chances for the Diamondbacks and has delivered five consecutive scoreless appearances, allowing just two hits while striking out 11 in that span (five innings). Overall, the right-hander sports a 1.97 ERA with a 1.21 WHIP and 61:26 K:BB through 50.1 innings this season. Martinez could continue to see work in the closer's role alongside the likes of A.J. Puk and Ryan Thompson, with Paul Sewald working in lower-leverage situations.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Works three innings
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Martinez allowed three hits and one walk while striking out two over three scoreless innings in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Mets.
Martinez had never recorded more than six outs in an MLB game, but he gave the Diamondbacks nine outs on a night when starter Zac Gallen (hamstring) was removed after six pitches. The reliever worked around traffic, helped by double plays in the fourth and fifth innings. The right-hander has made 12 consecutive scoreless appearances and given up just one run over 18.2 innings.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Excels in low-leverage role
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Martinez allowed one hit and one walk over a scoreless third of an inning in Saturday's 8-3 loss to Detroit.
Martinez has been effective in a low-leverage role out of the bullpen, allowing just one run with 16 strikeouts over 13 innings (0.69 ERA). He's managed to work around 10 walks, which is something that could turn against him at some point, but the right-hander's splitter (46.9 whiff percentage) and slider (50 percent) have been untouchable.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Returns to Arizona
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The Diamondbacks recalled Martinez from Triple-A Reno on Tuesday.
Martinez appeared in two games with the D-backs before being sent down to Triple-A on Sunday, throwing three scoreless innings while striking out two batters and walking four. He'll give Arizona additional depth in its bullpen as Kyle Nelson (shoulder) lands on the 15-day IL.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Summoned to big leagues
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Martinez was recalled from Triple-A Reno by the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
Martinez got a cup of coffee with the Diamondbacks last season, allowing 14 runs with a 14:11 K:BB over 10 innings. He had posted a 2.70 ERA with a 14:3 K:BB across 6.2 frames this season at Reno. Martinez has a huge arm built to miss bats, but throwing strikes is a major problem. He'll likely be used in low-leverage spots for now.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Heads to Triple-A
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The Diamondbacks optioned Martinez to Triple-A Reno on Sunday.
Martinez was one of seven players sent packing Sunday as Arizona reduced its group at major-league camp to 46 men. The team's decision to cut Martinez comes as little surprise after he struggled mightily in his first exposure to the big leagues in 2023, when he posted a 12.60 ERA and 2.40 WHIP over 10 innings out of the Arizona bullpen.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Optioned to Reno
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The Diamondbacks optioned Martinez to Triple-A Reno on Saturday.
With Zach Davies (back) returning from the injured list, Martinez will end up being the roster casualty. The 22-year-old gave up six runs over 4.2 innings and picked up his first career save after he was recalled Aug. 17.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Notches first MLB save
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Martinez earned a save against San Diego on Thursday, walking two batters and striking out three over 1.1 scoreless innings.
Closer Paul Sewald had pitched four times in five days coming into Thursday, as had top setup man Kevin Ginkel, so Arizona manager Torey Lovullo opted to go to Martinez -- who was called up from Triple-A Reno earlier in the day -- to protect a two-run lead in the eighth inning. Martinez struck out Ha-Seong Kim looking to end that frame, then returned for the ninth to try to close things out. He got himself into a bit of trouble by walking Fernando Tatis Jr. and Xander Bogaerts but escaped with the save after striking out Jake Cronenworth to end the contest. Though this was certainly an impressive performance by the 22-year-old right-hander, it's unlikely that he'll see many (if any) more save chances this season as long as Sewald and Ginkel are healthy and available.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Makes MLB debut
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Martinez allowed two runs on one hit and two walks while striking out two over one inning in Friday's 7-3 win over Pittsburgh. He also hit a batter.
Martinez brought the heat as advertised, averaging 100.8 mph on his four-seamer with 14 of 29 pitches clocking in at over 100 mph. He also brought the control issues that have dogged him in the minors. The 21-year-old right-hander struck out 41 batters in 31 innings at Triple-A Reno this season but also walked 28.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Recalled from Triple-A
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Arizona recalled Martinez from Triple-A Reno on Friday.
Martinez spent some time in the Diamondbacks' bullpen in late June but was not called on to make his MLB debut. He'll get another chance in Arizona's final series before the All-Star break. The 21-year-old right-hander has posted a 3.77 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 31 innings this season at the Triple-A level.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Sent back to Reno
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Arizona optioned Martinez to Triple-A Reno on Thursday.
Martinez did not make an appearance during his two-day stay on the Diamondbacks' major-league roster. The 21-year-old right-hander has posted a 4.18 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and 38:27 K:BB in 28 innings of relief this season at the Triple-A level.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Pitching at High-A
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Martinez (elbow) was reinstated from Single-A Visalia's 60-day injured list and promoted to High-A Hillsboro on July 22.
Martinez, who underwent Tommy John surgery last summer, made a swift recovery from the procedure and was cleared to begin a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League on July 12. After two outings in rookie ball, the Diamondbacks saw enough from Martinez to advance him to the High-A level for the first time in his career. Through his first two appearances with Hillsboro, Martinez has struck out five over 3.1 innings while allowing three earned runs on four hits and one walk.
