When given the opportunity to start for the Reds, swingman Nick Martinez aims to capitalize on them, regardless of how they arise. Despite making three starts this season, he hasn’t quite hit his stride as he has in his relief appearances. His downfall came during Thursday’s 5-0 loss to the Phillies at Great American Ball Park, when a four-run third inning proved to be his undoing.
Martinez remains optimistic, saying, “I’m not far off from getting on a roll I feel like.” However, he acknowledges the challenge of encountering significant innings as a starter. Reflecting on his starts, Martinez finds positives but notes that a couple of missed pitches, particularly with runners on base, tend to lead to decisive moments.
In the pivotal third inning, Nick Castellanos kicked off with a leadoff single, eventually scoring on Bryson Stott’s RBI triple. Kyle Schwarber then brought Stott home with a sacrifice fly. Martinez’s first pitch cutter to Trea Turner resulted in a ground-rule double to deep center field. Bryce Harper, back in action after a three-game absence on the paternity list, capitalized on a 2-2 changeup, sending it over the right-field fence for a two-run homer, extending the Phillies’ lead to 4-0.
“It was a bit of a mix of unfortunate circumstances and not hitting the right spots to the right hitters,” Martinez explained.
Bryce Harper has been particularly troublesome for the Reds this season, hitting four of his five home runs against them, highlighting the importance of precision in location.
“He’s arguably the best in the game,” Martinez acknowledged. “I agreed with the pitch selection. It was my execution that faltered, and he took advantage of it. Similarly, with Turner, he connected on the cutter for a double. It’s another instance where I didn’t execute the pitch to a quality hitter.”
In total, Martinez pitched six innings, conceding five earned runs on 11 hits. Despite not issuing any walks and recording three strikeouts, his record as a starter stands at 0-1 with a 7.31 ERA.
Initially slated in the rotation due to Nick Lodolo’s injury, Martinez made two starts before transitioning to the bullpen. In his relief role, he surrendered only one earned run over seven innings across two outings, including three scoreless innings against the Angels on Saturday.
When Frankie Montas got hit on the arm by a line drive on Sunday and was placed on the injured list, Martinez was once again called upon to fill in the rotation for what’s expected to be two starts.
“I believe we have a solid system in place here for handling these situations, and communication is key,” Martinez remarked. “I wouldn’t attribute it to moving back and forth between the bullpen and the rotation. Preparation-wise, everything’s been smooth. Physically, I feel fine. Perhaps I need to improve my performance with two-strike counts.”
The Reds intend to utilize Martinez flexibly, deploying him either as a starter or in relief depending on the team’s requirements and the specific circumstances of their pitching staff.
The Reds lineup struggled to generate offense, managing just one hit across six scoreless innings against Phillies ace Zack Wheeler. After Jeimer Candelario drew a leadoff walk in the third, Santiago Espinal singled to put runners on the corners.
Despite this opportunity, Wheeler thwarted the potential rally by recording consecutive called strikeouts against Luke Maile and Will Benson. A walk to Elly De La Cruz loaded the bases with two outs, but Spencer Steer’s fly ball to the right field warning track was caught by Castellanos, ending the inning.
Steer’s hitless streak extended to 0-for-18 by the end of the game.
“We started to put pressure on Wheeler in that one inning. We made it challenging for him,” noted Reds manager David Bell. “If we had gotten a hit there, we could have broken through and changed the momentum of the game. Credit to him, he prevented us from doing so.”
Despite splitting the four-game series against the Phillies, the Reds had secured the season series victory with Wednesday’s 7-4 win. The homestand concluded with a 5-2 record as the Reds prepared for a six-game road trip to Texas and San Diego.
