D-backs Flamethrower Bounces Back in High-Leverage Escape Act

PHOENIX -- In the eighth inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, it appeared the Arizona Diamondbacks' bullpen was about to take a familiarly disheartening route. Right-hander Scott McGough exited with the bases loaded and no outs, giving way to recently-returned flamethrower Justin Martinez, who was tasked with preserving a 5-0 lead.

What Martinez did then was nothing short of an escape act. On a 3-2 pitch to Pirates' DH Bryan Reynolds, he perfectly executed an 89 MPH splitter — his signature put-away pitch — for a swinging strikeout and a crucial first out.

Opponents are now batting .167 against Martinez in his limited 2025 action.

Justin Martinez inherited bases loaded, no outs, and stranded everyone. pic.twitter.com/m68A3hMWfV
— Alex D’Agostino (@AlexDagAZ) May 27, 2025

From that pitch on, it felt like Martinez had the game under control. It took only 13 pitches for him to retire the side and strand all three inherited runners.

It was only Martinez's second major league outing since returning from the 15-day IL, where he had been placed with shoulder inflammation. Martinez had been experiencing an unprecedentedly steep drop in both velocity and command, but was activated on May 23.

His first outing back didn't fare as well as Monday's. He allowed two runs, gave up the lead and took the loss in the eighth inning of a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. But both his velocity and command appeared to look close to normal, and on Monday, those factors earned him a scoreless inning in a high-pressure, high-leverage situation.

Martinez spoke to reporters postgame about his successful night:

"It was good, but I felt way better that we got a W tonight and get back on track tomorrow. And win tomorrow too. I felt pretty good tonight and [I'm] trying to be the same tomorrow," Martinez said.

The young righty said he entered Monday's mess of an inning with one goal: don't let Pittsburgh make contact.

"They can't even hit a foul ball, that was my mindset," Martinez said. "I've got to get this man out, the next guy, [I've] got to get this man out. Trying to get out of there, trying to get out of that inning with no damage, that was my mindset. Thank God things went good."

"Good" might be an understatement. While Martinez didn't achieve his goal of preventing a single instance of contact, the Pirates were lost at the plate against him. After his strikeout of Reynolds, it took him just five pitches to record the next two outs — a popout and a weak ground ball.

Martinez's trademark eye-popping velocity was back to full form. His fastball reached the 102 MPH mark, and his splitter crept up close to 90. But perhaps most important of all, his command appeared to be pinpoint. Whatever issue he had dealt with before certainly wasn't hindering him Monday night.

"I can say I'm back. Tonight I think I hit 102 and that's pretty good," Martinez said. "When you throw 100, you know that you can go out there."

Martinez said he felt the same on Monday as he did against the Cardinals on Saturday. Rather than let that poor outing change his perception, he was able to brush it off and perform in another high-intensity spot.

"I feel pretty good and I know the team is going to be better because I was feeling good. That was the most important part. But tonight, I was... feeling the same feeling. In St. Louis, that just happens. It's a bad game. It's going to happen all the time," Martinez said.

The D-backs had been in the midst of a five-game losing streak, due in large part to poor bullpen outings, Martinez included. But instead, the shutout was preserved, and Arizona will look to begin a new streak — this time, in the win column.

"We needed [Monday's win] as a team. Every time you're on a streak, when you lose a couple games, you're trying to feel kind of down. It was a good win tonight, so we've got to enjoy that and go back tomorrow," Martinez said.

Although the outing won't go down as a save (it did qualify as a Hold) for Martinez, manager Torey Lovullo acknowledged how critical his reliever's shutdown inning was.

"For me, that was the save," said Lovullo. "That was definitely the save, the most impactful [inning], and he came in with the bases loaded and did a great job.

"I knew if we kept putting him into that environment, that situation, that eventually he was going go out and do something like that today," the skipper said.

D-backs Flamethrower Bounces Back in High-Leverage Escape Act

Related Content

Ryne Nelson Makes Statement with Dominant Start vs Pirates