Rays' Nick Martinez can put end to Yankees season

NEW YORK — Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Nick Martinez knows what’s at stake Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. He’ll be on the mound for Game 3 of the American League Division series against the New York Yankees. 

The Rays have a 2-0 lead and a chance to advance to the American League Championship Series, their first since 2020. Based on his road numbers, Martinez is the right guy for the job. In 16 starts away from Tropicana Field this season, Martinez is 7-3 with a 2.38 ERA. 

Nick Martinez excited to face Yankees in the Bronx

“Yeah. I've been paying attention to the last two games. So I'm fully aware what's at stake tomorrow,” Martinez said in a Zoom call with reporters. “It should be exciting. I imagine it's going to be an electric crowd with (the Yankees') season on the line. It's going to be an absolute dog fight, just like my last 31 starts.”

It’s ironic that Martinez is pitching in the Bronx. Over a decade ago and not too far away from Yankee Stadium, Martinez played college ball at Fordham University.  During his three seasons at the school, he spent most of his time as an infielder, hitting .295 (167-for-567) with 66 RBI in 152 games. Yes, throwing off the mound was part of his game, too. He made 15 relief appearances at the university.

Martinez said the school is one of the reasons he is going strong on the mound at the age of 36.    

“It helped me a ton because I didn't pitch (much) in college. So I didn't have the same type of mileage that a lot of guys my age have,” he said. “So it kept me fresh. But I think ... playing every day, you want to help the team win it any way possible, and I think that mentality of playing every day and doing whatever it takes to win, I think it creates a little bit more character like just getting the job done, doing whatever you can."

Signing Martinez to a one-year deal worth $13 million has proved to be a bargain for the Rays. In his first full season as a starter, Martinez won a career-high 16 games, and if he is going to end the Yankees season, he has to rely on his change up and cutter. Opposing hitters have a .184 batting average against that pitch, according to Baseball Savant. His cutter is just as deadly. A .239 batting average against the pitch indicates that hitters are not comfortable when Martinez is on the hill.   

Martinez is not known for getting strikeouts; It’s about getting soft contact and letting the defense behind him do the work.   

“We got a lot of guys and a lot of starters that get a lot of outs via the strikeout. We know and (Martinez) knows that's not his bread and butter,” Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters. “It's to try to get guys out early in the count, trust the defense. He does that as well as anybody, and set up his pitches, where it's not an overpowerful approach. ... He knows that the reason he's had so much success this year is probably due in large part because of that cutter and the changeup combination have been getting a lot of early swings on it.”

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.