Justin

Martinez

Martinez came into a 7-5 game with two outs in the eighth and gave up an RBI single before retiring Luis Matos to end the inning. The Diamondbacks went on to score an insurance run in the ninth, and Martinez ended up needing it, as he allowed two hits and a run in the inning. Still, he moved to 8-for-8 in his save chance since taking over the closer’s role. He has allowed single runs in six of his last nine appearances.

Martinez took the mound in the top of the ninth to close out the game with a three-run lead after Corbin Carroll’s go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the eighth. He struck out one batter in a clean inning of work for his seventh save.

Martinez has walked the tightrope in a few of his last few save opportunities and today had to pitch around a solo home run to Tyler O’Neill in the ninth inning. Still, he didn’t allow another baserunner and locked down his sixth save of the season. Paul Sewald has been pitching better of late so perhaps Martinez’s leash isn’t as long as it once seemed, but he is the clear closer for now in Arizona.

Martinez was called upon to put out a fire in the eighth inning, with a one-run lead to protect and the tying run on second base. He responded by striking out Xavier Edwards and getting Jake Burger to ground out to second to end the threat. He returned with a three-run lead in the ninth and loaded the bases with only one out — but just one run scored as he uncorked a wild pitch with two outs, then Martinez struck out David Hensley to end it. On the season, he now holds a brilliant 1.89 ERA and 71/30 K/BB ratio over 57 innings on the season.

Martinez didn’t allow a hit and struck out one in what was an uneventful inning. The 23-year-old has been lights out for Arizona all season, registering a 1.79 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 55 1/3 innings. There’s a very good chance that, should he finish this season strong, he will remain in the closer role for 2025.

The walk was Martinez’s fault, but the run scored from first on a grounder up the middle that was deflected by the second baseman and mishandled by the center fielder, making this a pretty tough loss. The run was the first he’s given up in eight appearances, and he’s still likely the favorite for saves in the Arizona pen for now.

Paul Sewald has been effective of late, but the Diamondbacks stuck with Martinez here. It was his seventh straight scoreless appearance, a span in which he’s picked up all three of his saves.

Martinez committed an error on a comebacker and allowed the Guardians to load the bases before striking out Lane Thomas to end the game. With Paul Sewald showing signs of bouncing back. it’s hard to say how many more save chances Martinez might get. He’s thus far received two of the four since Sewald was pulled from the closer’s role.

Martinez got the call to protect a narrow one-run margin in the 10th inning after Ryan Thompson was saddled with a blown save the previous inning when he surrendered a game-tying sacrifice fly that sent the contest to extra innings. He intentionally walked José Ramírez to put runners on the corners before striking out Josh Naylor and David Fry to preserve the victory. The hard-throwing 23-year-old righty should continue to factor into Arizona’s closing mix alongside Thompson and newly-acquired A.J. Puk moving forward, which makes him an interesting addition in deeper mixed leagues where every potential save is extremely valuable.

Lovullo didn’t rule out the possibility of Sewald regaining the role eventually, but the Diamondbacks are going to turn to some of their alternatives moving forward. It was Ryan Thompson who was summoned to protect a two-run lead on Friday night in Pittsburgh, but we’re assuming Justin Martinez, Kevin Ginkel and newly-acquired A.J. Puk will be in the mix for save chances moving forward.