Rays' Free Agent Signing Puts Together Excellent Start Against Brewers

The Tampa Bay Rays received an excellent start from a key offseason addition.

Sep 26, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The hat and glove of Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero (13) in the dugout during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Coming off losing a series to the St. Louis Cardinals, the Tampa Bay Rays continued their road trip against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday. Fortunately, a strong performance from their starter helped catapult the team to a win. 

While road games are never easy, the series loss to the Cardinals was certainly one that stung a bit for Tampa Bay. Despite having a lead in every game, they were unable to win the series. 

In each of the first two matchups, they blew leads both large and small, and it cost them. While the bullpen did not perform well for the team, there were some positives at least. The offense did much better than expected, scoring at least five runs in each of the games. 

Furthermore, designated hitter Yandy Diaz was able to have a historic game on Sunday, tying a franchise record of five hits. However, it wasn’t enough to help them win the series, and they headed into the opener in Milwaukee with a 1-2 record. 

Fortunately, in the opener, it was free-agent addition Nick Martinez on the mound, and the right-hander performed very well. 

Martinez Shines

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Nick Martinez | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The Rays added Martinez somewhat late in the offseason after they traded away Shane Baz to provide them with some depth and a solid veteran option at the back of the rotation. Perhaps due to him signing a bit late, he didn’t perform great this spring and there was a cause for concern. 

However, the right-hander ended any of those potential concerns really quickly with a fantastic outing against the Brewers. Martinez gave Tampa Bay a quality start, going six innings and allowing just two runs. 

This was a very encouraging outing for the right-hander, especially considering he is being asked to be more of a depth piece in the rotation rather than a front-end starter. However, if he is able to put together starts like this, the rotation is going to be a strength for the team. 

While he might not have been able to secure the win, he was certainly deserving of it. The strong performance did help the team take the first game of the series, and that will allow them to try and win the series or potentially even go for a sweep. Shane McClanahan will be on the mound for the team on Tuesday in his highly anticipated return. Hopefully, he can follow in the footsteps of Martinez and help get the team a win.