Guardians' Angel Martinez: Lashes two hits in loss
Rotowire
Martinez started in center field and went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored in Tuesday's 6-5 loss to Arizona.
Martinez, who made his second start in the last five games, has experienced a dip in playing time due to the recent promotion of prospect C.J. Kayfus. Martinez's sputtering bat may limit his plate appearances further going forward. Tuesday's multi-hit effort was his first since July 22; he entered the game with a .111/.211/.175 slash line along with two extra-base hits and two RBI over the previous 20 contests.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Not starting Saturday
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Martinez isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Minnesota.
Martinez will take a seat Saturday after going 0-for-7 with three strikeouts across his previous two games. Daniel Schneemann will take over as Cleveland's center fielder and bat second while Martinez rests.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Homers in consecutive at-bats
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Martinez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Astros.
Martinez, who finished Tuesday's extra-inning win with a 10th-inning grand slam, homered in his first at-bat Wednesday. The blast extended a hit streak to six games, during which Martinez is 7-for-23 (.304) with five extra-base hits and five RBI. With Lane Thomas (foot) and Gabriel Arias (ankle) both on the 10-day injured list, Martinez has paths to playing time in center field and second base.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Blasts first career grand slam
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Martinez went 1-for-4 with a grand slam and a walk in Tuesday's 10-6 extra-inning win over Houston.
Martinez smacked his first career grand slam in the 10th frame en route to setting a career high in RBI. The switch-hitting center fielder extended his hitting streak to five games and should see a bump in playing time with Lane Thomas (foot) on the injured list, but it's still been a tough season for him at the plate overall. Through 264 plate appearances, Martinez is slashing .238/.264/.371 with six home runs, 13 doubles, 30 RBI and five stolen bases.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Starts in center field
Rotowire
Martinez started in center field and went 2-for-4 with two doubles in Sunday's 7-2 extra-inning loss to the Tigers .
Martinez moved to center field after the Guardians placed Lane Thomas (plantar fasciitis) on the 10-day injured list, the second time he's landed on the IL with the same injury. Martinez has hit safely in five of his last six starts, but that's done little to halt the team's losing streak, which reached 10 games Sunday. Like several others in the lineup not named Steven Kwan or Jose Ramirez, Martinez is providing little impact. Going back to June 5, he's batting .210 (17-for-81) with a .296 slugging percentage and four RBI over 26 contests.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Back on bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Martinez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.
The switch-hitting Martinez had started at second base in each of the last five games, but three of those starts came against left-handed pitchers, and the left-handed-hitting Daniel Schneemann occupied other positions in the two matchups with righties. Schneemann still looks poised to occupy the strong side of a platoon at the keystone, though Martinez's ability to play shortstop, third base and all three outfield spots should allow him to see semi-regular playing time against right-handed pitching if one of the Guardians' other everyday players should need a day off.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Swipes fifth bag
Rotowire
Martinez went 0-for-2 with a steal, a walk and a run scored in Sunday's 3-0 victory over the Athletics.
The 23-year-old switch hitter made his fourth consecutive start at the keystone and stole second off Athletics starter JP Sears in the second frame. Despite the recent run of playing time, Martinez has struggled in June, batting just .190 (12-for-63) with two homers, seven runs scored, five RBI and an ugly 18:2 K:BB across 17 games. Overall, he is now slashing .239/.261/.368 while going a perfect 5-for-5 on steal attempts through 220 plate appearances in 60 games.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Provides lone run in loss
Rotowire
Martinez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 5-1 loss to the Athletics.
Martinez has hit safely in five of his last six games, going 8-for-21 (.381) in that span. His homer Friday was his fifth of the season, but it was his first since June 4 against the Yankees. Martinez is now at a .246/.265/.379 slash line with 25 RBI, 23 runs scored, 10 doubles, one triple and four stolen bases over 58 contests. He's not seeing an everyday role, but he's offered a challenge at multiple positions, mainly in competition with Daniel Schneemann at second base and Lane Thomas in center field.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Holding down regular lineup spot
Rotowire
Martinez will start at center field and bat second in Wednesday's game against the Yankees, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Lane Thomas' (foot) recent move to the injured list has cleared the way for Martinez to hold down a regular lineup spot, but the 23-year-old may need to pick up the pace at the plate to ensure his playing time remains steady once Thomas returns. The Guardians have continued to roll with Martinez in the No. 2 spot in the lineup, even though he's slashing an unremarkable .206/.235/.340 since the beginning of May.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Involved late in win
Rotowire
Martinez entered Saturday's game as a pinch hitter before taking over at second base. He went 1-for-2 with two RBI in a 7-5 extra-inning win over Detroit.
Martinez knocked in the tying run in the eighth inning, then had a run-scoring double in the 10th. He has been a fixture in the lineup since he was called up in April, mainly in center field, but Lane Thomas was activated off the injured list this week and might reclaim the starting job. As such, Martinez could be headed for a utility role. He's slashing .281/.305/.405 with two home runs, 17 RBI, four steals and 15 runs over 37 games.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Homers, drives in three
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Martinez went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and an additional run scored in Thursday's 7-0 win over Detroit.
The 23-year-old extended Cleveland's lead to 3-0 with a solo homer off Jack Flaherty in the fifth inning, his second long ball of the year, before breaking the game open in the ninth with a two-run double. Martinez has started five straight games, going 5-for-19 (.263) with a .724 OPS in that span. Overall, he's slashing .289/.314/.412 with 15 RBI, 14 runs scored and four stolen bases across 122 plate appearances this year.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Grip on CF job might be slipping
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Martinez is not in the lineup for Friday's game in Cincinnati.
Martinez has now been out of the lineup twice in four games since Will Brennan was recalled from Triple-A Columbus. For the third time over that stretch, the Guardians are using Nolan Jones in center field and Brennan in right field.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Logs two XBHs in win
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Martinez went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, two RBI and an additional run scored in Friday's 6-0 win over Philadelphia.
Martinez rapped a two-run home run in the fifth and then scored another run after a seventh-inning double. It was his first homer. The two extra-base hits were out of the norm of Martinez, who entered Friday with a .288 slugging percentage over his previous 20 games. He maintains a .325 average -- fueled by some luck -- but hasn't hit for much pop (.121 ISO).
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Involved in rally
Rotowire
Martinez went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 8-6 win over Washington.
The Guardians were trailing, 3-0, after five innings but erupted for an eight-spot in the sixth inning. After Carlos Santana knotted the game with a three-run double, Martinez knocked a two-run single to give Cleveland the lead. He's been a steady contributor since being called up in the wake of Lane Thomas' wrist injury, but there are warning signs he won't sustain his .313 average. Martinez has been lucky (.373 BABIP, .249 XBA), and a lack of plate discipline (43.2 chase percentage, lowest percentile) could chip away at the high average.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Getting rest Saturday
Rotowire
Martinez isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Toronto.
After going 0-for-4 in Friday's series opener, Martinez will grab a seat on the bench Saturday while Nolan Jones starts in center field.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Game-winning knock off bench
Rotowire
Martinez went 1-for-1 with an RBI single in Thursday's 4-3 extra-inning win over Minnesota.
Martinez came off the bench to pinch hit in the 10th inning and waited long enough on an 0-2 changeup to deliver the winning run. He's been outstanding for the Guardians since a call-up from Triple-A Columbus, slashing .345/.350/.448 with two steals, six RBI and five runs. The major difference for the switch-hitting Martinez, who had a .636 OPS in 2024, is an unsustainable .400 BABIP, which suggests a correction is coming.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Logs two hits, run in win
Rotowire
Martinez went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Monday's 6-4 win over the Yankees.
Martinez doubled and scored what turned out to be the winning run in the fourth inning. He started a third consecutive game in center field, as Martinez appears to have overtaken Lane Thomas (.366 OPS) as the primary starter. It makes sense, because Martinez is batting .364 (12-for-33) with an .868 OPS over nine games since his call-up from Triple-A.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Moves to second base
Rotowire
Martinez started at second base and went 0-for-3 in Friday's 10-7 win over Pittsburgh.
With the regular outfield fully healthy, manager Stephen Vogt kept Martinez's bat in the lineup by moving him to the infield. Martinez initially filled in at center field for Lane Thomas and went 8-for-14 over his first four games following a call-up from Triple-A Columbus. Martinez has since gone 0-for-7 with starts in right field and second base. He can move between the infield and outfield and could remain in the majors if the bat continues to play.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Starts in right field
Rotowire
Martinez started in right field and went 0-for-4 in Wednesday's 9-1 loss to the Orioles.
Martinez was rewarded for the good work he did in the first four games following his call-up. The switch-hitter entered the game 8-for-14 and potentially could move ahead of Nolan Jones, who served as the left-handed component of a platoon in right field with Jhonkensy Noel prior to Martinez's arrival.
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Guardians' Angel Martinez: Another multi-hit effort
Rotowire
Martinez started in center field and went 3-for-4 with a triple, a stolen base and two runs scored in Tuesday's 6-3 win over the Orioles.
Martinez has mashed since being called up from Triple-A Columbus last week, going 8-for-14 with two doubles, a triple and three RBI over four games. He's filled in at center field for the injured Lane Thomas (wrist), who entered as a pinch hitter Tuesday and finished the game in center. With all outfielders not named Steven Kwan underperforming, Martinez has positioned himself for continued opportunities.
