Cincinnati Reds Veteran Deserves Major Praise After Stellar Week

Nick Martinez did a little bit of everything for the Reds over the past eight days.

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Nick Martinez (28) pats Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona (77) before leaving the pitches mound in the eighth inning of a MLB game between the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres, Friday, June 27, 2025, at Great American Ball Park in Downtown Cincinnati. Reds won 8-1. | Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — Reds veteran pitcher Nick Martinez put on a show on Friday night at Great American Ballpark, taking a no-hitter into the ninth inning in Cincinnati's 8-1 win over San Diego.

Martinez was dominant on Friday, but his performance caps off an outstanding week.

He appeared in four games in eight days for the Reds, including Friday's start.

The trek began with 2 2/3 innings on June 19. He followed that up by tossing two scoreless innings on June 21 and one scoreless frame on June 23.

Then, three days later, he pitched the best game of his career and helped guide the Reds to an easy win in front of the hometown crowd.

When the Reds kept Martinez this season, some wondered if it was a mistake. Giving $21 million to a 34-year-old pitcher that can start, but may be best as a reliever seemed questionable at the time.

The past eight days are why it was the right decision. It's hard to get it right in free agency. It's even harder to find reliability and versatility.

Martinez checks those boxes and delivered in a big way over the past week. Check out his postgame reaction below:

The more I think about the last week for Nick Martinez, the more I appreciate what he did for the #Reds
Offered help to weary pen.
Offered to do keep a teammate on normal routine.
Started last Thursday: 2.2 IN, 7 R
Bullpen Saturday: 2.0, 0 R
Bullpen Monday: 1.0, 0 R
Started… pic.twitter.com/cMoFgq2dXy
— LanceMcAlister (@LanceMcAlister) June 28, 2025

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