Late bloomer Nick Martinez draws Game 1 start for Rays
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Juan Beltran, Contributor
- October 23, 2026
Nick Martinez adds another remarkable milestone to first All-Star season
Fittingly, perhaps, Nick Martinez is starting Game 1 of the World Series for the Tampa Bay Rays. After all, the veteran right-hander is the type of unheralded signing emblematic of the smart decisions that small-market teams must make to reach the Fall Classic.
Martinez, 36, isn’t the Rays’ ace. That title belongs to hard-throwing right-hander Drew Rasmussen, who has dominated this postseason and is taking the mound in Game 2. Until this year, Martinez had never even started a postseason game in the majors.
But Martinez has thrived this season. So instead of Rasmussen, the Rays are sending Martinez against Brewers phenom Jacob Misiorowski, the ace who is favored to win the National League Cy Young Award.
“We prioritized Drew getting an extra day (of rest),” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He’s had a pretty thick workload here. We’ve relied on him heavily. We know when he takes the ball, we’re trying to get the full pitch allotment out of him.”
Nick Martinez thrives with Rays
Until this year, Martinez’s MLB postseason experience included 11 ⅓ innings over eight relief appearances since he was with the Padres in 2022. He actually got his first taste of playoff baseball during his four-year sojourn in Japan from 2018 to 2021.
“This team, this organization has a great reputation of getting the best out of their guys,” Martinez said. “The way they do that is being transparent and communicating. Communicating what they expect out of their players and a path on how to get there and how to stay there at the top of their game. They do a really good job of that.
“As a player, that gives us the most confidence to go out there and be aggressive, to play free knowing that I have a team behind me not just on the field, but behind the scenes knowing that they can bring me back to what makes us successful, and it all comes down to communication.”
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Martinez signed with the Rays a day before spring training started. He earned his first All-Star nod this year in his ninth season in the majors and 13th overall between Japan and MLB.
He finished 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA over 180 innings and 31 starts. He’ll go up against Misiorowski, who was 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA. Martinez beat the Guardians 4-2 while holding Cleveland to two hits and one run over 5 ⅓ innings in the American League Championship Series.
Winning formula
“When Nick pitches, we win,” Cash said. “So excited to hand Nick the ballgame 1, and we’ll go from there.”
Although he’s only been with the Rays since spring training, Martinez is a respected leader. The native of Miami was often the leader of team dinners on the road, helping build camaraderie during the long 162-game season.
“Just having the opportunity to meet him as an individual, he’s one of my favorite teammates I’ve ever gotten an opportunity to play with,” Rasmussen said of Martinez. “I couldn’t be happier for him. He’s worked his tail off.
“I think in this game it’s very rare to see people who I think prepare like I do. He’s definitely equally as prepared. He’s earned the opportunity to go out there and get us out of the gates. I couldn’t be happier for him. I’m really excited.”
Juan Beltran
Contributor
Juan Beltran, who immigrated to the United States from El Salvador at 5 years old, is an experienced broadcast journalist
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