Martinez worked a scoreless inning, retiring all three batters he faced in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Marlins.
With the Diamondbacks holding a 4-1 lead entering the eighth inning, manager Torey Lovullo had the late-game crew -- Martinez and A.J. Puk -- warming in the bullpen. Arizona then scored twice in the top half of the inning, increasing the lead to beyond what would qualify as a save. Lovullo stuck to the plan and had Puk work the bottom of the eighth with left-handers due up, then brought in Martinez to finish up. The latter needed just eight pitches to seal the win, making his seventh straight scoreless appearance to start the season.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Works smooth eighth inning
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Martinez struck out two over one inning to earn a hold in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Brewers.
Arizona led 3-2 when the right-handed Martinez opened the eighth inning against three scheduled righty hitters. He retired the side in order, including a lefty pinch hitter. That held the lead for lefty A.J. Puk heading into the ninth, when the Brewers had lefties scheduled. The late-game bullpen deployment is working without manager Torey Lovullo having to name one closer. Martinez has yet to allow a run or a walk while striking out nine over 5.2 innings.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Notches second save
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Martinez struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning Tuesday to record his second save of the season in a 4-3 win over the Orioles.
A.J. Puk collected the hold in the eighth before turning things over to Martinez, who plunked Tyler O'Neill with a pitch but was otherwise untouchable. Martinez has a 0.00 ERA and 7:0 K:BB through 4.2 innings while sharing closing duties with Puk.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Sharing ninth-inning work with Puk
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Martinez earned the save after throwing a scoreless ninth inning on one hit Friday against the Nationals. He struck out one.
It was the first save of the season for Martinez, who is now up to 3.2 scoreless frames to open the campaign. The hard-throwing right-hander has split time between the eighth and ninth innings over his four appearances, so it appears manager Torey Lovullo prefers to mix and match his closers based on the matchups. The Arizona closing situation has been something close to an even split for ninth-inning work thus far, with A.J. Puk seeing similar usage to Martinez across his four appearances.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Impressive hold in win
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Martinez threw a scoreless and hitless eighth inning while striking out three to earn a hold in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Yankees.
It was a dominant display by the right-handed Martinez, who came on the face the heart of New York's order, which included two righty hitters among three scheduled batters . He fanned Aaron Judge with a splitter and then punched out Jazz Chisholm and Anthony Volpe on 101-mph fastballs. The left-handed A.J. Puk followed, conveniently with three lefties due up, to convert Arizona's first save opportunity of the season. While that sequence may suggest Puk is the closer, manager Torey Lovullo still hasn't named one, and his late-game deployment was all about matchups, particularly having Martinez pitch to Judge. Martinez has allowed two hits and struck out five over 2.2 scoreless innings (three appearances) so far this season.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Makes season debut
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Martinez pitched a scoreless ninth inning in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Cubs.
Martinez made his season debut, entering the top of the ninth inning with Arizona down 4-1. None of the four balls in play he allowed left the infield, and only a fielding error by Martinez extended what could have been a 1-2-3 frame. The right-hander inked a five-year extension late in spring training and is expected to pitch in high-leverage situations, potentially splitting closing duties with A.J. Puk.
Martinez signed a five-year, $18 million contract extension with the Diamondbacks on Friday, Alex D'Agostino of SI.com reports.
In addition to covering him for 2025, Martinez's new deal will buy out his three arbitration years and includes club options for 2030 and 2031, giving him immediate financial security while the Diamondbacks get their young, hard-throwing reliever locked into a team-friendly deal. Martinez turned in a 2.48 ERA and 1.31 WHIP with 91 strikeouts over 72.2 innings during his first full season in the majors last year, though it's still unknown if he, A.J. Puk or Kevin Ginkel will be the preferred ninth-inning option once the regular season begins.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Touched for two runs
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Martinez allowed two runs on two hits and struck out one over one inning in Thursday's spring game against the Athletics.
Martinez worked the seventh inning following other closer candidates Kevin Ginkel (fifth inning) and A.J. Puk (sixth). Manager Torey Lovullo indicated Wednesday that he's still mulling the decision as to which of the three will be his primary option in the ninth inning when the games begin to count. This was the second time in eight Cactus League appearances that Martinez has allowed runs, upping his spring ERA to 6.43. Although the small samples mean little, that is much higher than the ERAs of Ginkel (1.50) and Puk (1.29).
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Works clean inning
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Martinez struck out two over one inning in Monday's Cactus League game against the Royals.
Other than one ugly outing, Martinez has had a strong spring. One of the final questions remaining for the team in spring training is who will be the Diamondbacks' primary closer. Martinez has allowed three runs (all in one outing) on three hits and three walks while striking out nine over six Cactus League innings. His primary competition for the job is A.J. Puk (1.50 ERA, six innings), with Kevin Ginkel (1.69 ERA, 5.1 innings) also in consideration.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Squelches fourth-inning jam
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Martinez threw a scoreless two-thirds of an inning in Tuesday's spring game against Kansas City.
Martinez came on in the fourth inning to relieve starter Merrill Kelly, who left with one out and runners at the corners. Martinez needed just two pitches to get out of the jam, inducing a double-play groundout to end the inning. It was the fourth scoreless appearance in five Cactus League outings for Martinez, who is competing with A.J. Puk and Kevin Ginkel for the closer role.
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Diamondbacks' Justin Martinez: Part of bullpen day
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Martinez walked one and struck out one over a scoreless fourth inning in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Cubs.
It was a bullpen day for the Diamondbacks, which gave manager Torey Lovullo a chance to see his three potential closers pitch early enough in the game to see the other team's regulars. Martinez followed Kevin Ginkel (second inning) and A.J. Puk (third inning). Martinez had the toughest task of the three, facing the second, third and four batters in Chicago's order. All three relievers threw scoreless innings, compounding the difficulty of the decision for the manager. Martinez and Puk appear to be the leading candidates, but all three are expected to work high-leverage innings at the back end of the bullpen.
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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.
