In a bit of a curveball, the Tampa Bay Rays will start Nick Martinez, not staff ace Drew Rasmussen, in Game 1 of the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, manager Kevin Cash announced Thursday. Rasmussen would've pitched on regular rest Friday after starting Sunday in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians, but Cash said the club prioritized giving him an extra day between starts, given Rasmussen's heavy usage in the postseason thus far.
Martinez, who had never started a postseason game before this year, will get the ball on five days' rest after holding the Guardians to one run on two hits over 5⅓ innings in Game 4 of the ALCS. He will start opposite Brewers fireballer Jacob Misiorowski. Martinez said Cash informed him Wednesday night after he organized a team dinner at a local steakhouse. "It's exciting," Martinez said. "I think as a team, as a staff, we're confident in whoever we call up to the mound."
Martinez, a 36-year-old right-hander, signed a one-year, $13 million contract with the Rays days before spring training and has emerged as one of the best pitchers in the AL in his first full year as a big league starter. He earned his first All-Star nod and finished the regular season with a 3.10 ERA in a career-high 180 innings. He was even better on the road, compiling a 2.38 ERA in 94⅔ innings in 16 starts away from home.
Martinez pitched in Milwaukee in late March, holding the Brewers to two runs in six innings. Nearly seven months later, the low-payroll powerhouses meet again for the opener, with a World Series title on the line. "They're a team that doesn't take any pitches off," Martinez said. "It's going to be a dogfight."
Source: ESPN MLB · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing