Nick Martinez allowed three hits and one run with one walk and three strikeouts across 5 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Astros on Friday.
Martinez cruised through five scoreless innings before his third battle with Yordan Alvarez. In his first two at-bats, it took Martinez seven pitches to retire him. That third time, Alvarez homered on the fifth pitch he saw, a sinker that missed its spot and wound up belt high. Then, Isaac Paredes reached on an infield single and Martinez was pulled at just 85 pitches. That means that nearly one quarter of all the pitches Martinez threw in this game were to Alvarez. That’s baseball at its best. No other hitter gave him trouble and he left the game with a 2.61 ERA through 100 innings this season. He’ll close out his first half with a start against the Yankees at home.
