After his Major League debut on April 5th against the Tampa Bay Rays, Nick Martinez was on the move less than twenty hours later to play for the Frisco RoughRiders, AA affiliate of the Texas Rangers.
This demotion into the Rangers farm system had nothing to do with poor play, as Martinez impressed with 6 innings under his belt and just 3 runs surrendered, going head to head with one of the games top pitchers in David Price. This decision had more to do with a guy earning 9.5 million dollars this year, a guy named Yu Darvish, coming back to the to the big league club off some time spent on the disabled list.
At 10:05 PM ET tonight, Martinez takes the hill in Oakland, to battle the Athletics at the OC Coliseum. The former Ram was selected in the 18th round back in 2011, and has excelled at every stop of his minor league journey. The righty understands that his second trip to the bigs will be brief, as this appearance is just a fill-in spot for another right-hander Tanner Scheppers, currently on the 15 day DL.
For a young player each game at the highest level proves to be valuable experience and the opportunity of a lifetime. Martinez looks to earn his first Major League win on the West Coast against one of the games peskiest teams. After his first game his stat line reads an 0-0 record, with 6 innings pitched, and an Earned Run Average of 4.50.