Since that start, Martinez has a 2.05 ERA over a five-game stretch with 21 strikeouts compared to just four walks.
“I want to be a guy that’s reliable,” Martinez said after Thursday’s win over the Chicago White Sox. “Somebody that gives this team a chance to win ball games.”
Martinez identified a few issues after his first four starts of the season. His mechanics weren’t where they needed to be, he wasn’t generating as much swing and miss as he wanted to and he was struggling when he faced the order for the third time in a game.
Martinez, the Reds’ highest-paid player, had some urgency to address those concerns.
“In the first few starts, I’d get into a funk and couldn’t command my off-speed that well,” Martinez said. “Being more athletic in my delivery allows me to be more deceptive as well. You free your mind and be athletic. Rely on your athleticism and know that I can get to my spots and my mechanics.”
Martinez had a similar slow start to the 2024 season, when he had a 5.46 ERA through the month of April. This time, he got back on track more quickly.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
This year, Martinez said a factor during the first few starts of his season was working with two new catchers in Jose Trevino and Austin Wynns as starting catcher Tyler Stephenson opened the year on the injured list.
“In the beginning, it was really just trusting my catchers,” Martinez said. “In the beginning, whoever was catching me was trying to get to know me. I was trying to see how they called the game. It’s really just getting into a groove with the catchers and narrowing my focus on just executing. Not worrying about mechanics, sequencing and command and all of that stuff. You narrow it down to just execution and really just getting more athletic in my delivery.”
When he’s rolling, Martinez has a much different style than Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Andrew Abbott. While the young pitchers win with individual pitches that pop off of the screen, Martinez’s pitch mix, command, consistency and know-how define his game.
Martinez felt like his mechanics were a tick off to start the season, which showed him areas he had to improve.
“The fluidity,” Martinez said. “The smoothness. The athleticism. That’s allowed me to command all of my pitches.”
Against the White Sox, Martinez effectively mixed six different pitches. Chicago especially had a difficult time catching up with his changeup. Martinez filled up the strike zone, was very efficient and threw seven shutout innings.
For a variety of reasons, the Reds’ bullpen has been really taxed of late. The relievers have had to throw a lot of innings recently, so Martinez’s ability to pitch as deep in the game as he did went a long way.
“Because they had to respect all of his pitches, he was getting his fastball by their barrels a lot,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “He was really aggressive, especially in the zone.”
Because of how much the bullpen was in flux, the rotation was also in flux heading into the weekend. Rookie Chase Petty has been slotted to start on Saturday. But Francona said that if there were a short start before Saturday, the Reds would likely have to call up an extra reliever, option Petty to Triple-A and figure out Saturday’s starter when they get there.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Martinez’s start ensured that they wouldn’t have to make that move and kept Petty in line to start the second game of the series this weekend against the Cleveland Guardians.
Martinez is a guy the Reds can really count on when they’re in a tough situation. He’s known as one of the leaders in the clubhouse as well as a stable and consistent presence on the mound.
“He’s such a pro,” Francona said. “He loves competing. You watch him out there, and he’s having a ball.”
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