A good thing happens to a good person as Nick Martinez flirts with a no-hitter

Every week, pitching coach Derek Johnson gives out an award that’s called “The Rock of the Week.” It doesn’t go to the pitcher who had just posted the best stats. “It’s for what we’re striving to be,” Reds closer Emilio Pagán said.

Last week, even before Nick Martinez made his best start with the Reds and nearly delivered a no-hitter, he won that award.

“I said it when we first signed (Martinez),” Pagán said. “What he does is one of the more impressive things I’ve seen from afar and admired. It’s special. It’s truly special. There’s a reason why he’s making what he’s making. He’s worth every penny and more.”

The week started with Martinez getting shelled by the Twins, allowing seven runs in 2 ⅔ innings. A few days later, Francona asked Martinez if he’d make a one-off appearance out of the bullpen because the relievers were taxed and since Martinez didn’t throw many pitches vs. Minnesota. Martinez threw two shutout innings in that relief appearance in St. Louis and would have been the hero of the game if the back of the bullpen didn’t give up the lead at the end.

The next day, Francona called Martinez and Brady Singer into his office. The Reds were calling up Chase Burns to pitch on the upcoming Tuesday, so one of Martinez or Singer would have to push their start back to Friday in the series opener against the Padres. Singer preferred staying on his normal schedule.

Martinez moved his start day to Friday, and he saw one added advantage of the extra rest. He could make one more bullpen appearance on Monday, and Martinez went on to throw a shutout inning against the Yankees. Then on Friday, Martinez was back on the mound to start and matched up against his former team.

“He (pitched out of the bullpen last week) it for a reason,” Francona said. “To help the ball club. Sometimes, when you have your head in the right place and your attitude in the right place, things can end up being in the right place.”

Over at Charlie’s Chalkboard, we’ll be calling this eight-plus shutout innings from Nick Martinez (Taylor Rogers allowed an inherited runner to score as he walked two batters). Martinez carried a no-hitter until pinch-hitter Elias Díaz doubled off the left field wall with no outs in the ninth.

While Martinez didn’t get the no-hitter, his teammates and the Reds’ crowd that gave him an ovation essentially treated it like one. As Martinez left the game, TJ Friedl said in center field, “If anyone deserves it it’s him.”

“He has gone out for two years straight (to pitch) whenever we need him,” Friedl said after the game. “That’s everything you’d ask for. He deserves every single thing he gets.”

Martinez is viewed as the most versatile pitcher in baseball. He’ll bounce between the bullpen and the rotation with the snap of a fingers if that’s what the team needs. After his key inning of relief on Monday against the Yankees, Martinez’s teammates recognized him postgame as “the only guy in the world” who could offer the type of relief between starts that Martinez had just done.

“There's not another guy in the game that does that,” Nick Lodolo said. “He takes pride in that. That makes him him.”

The other thing that makes Nick Martinez Nick Martinez is the way that he bounces around on the mound and in the dugout. On Friday, Francona said that he was as nervous as he has been in a long time as the manager rooted on Martinez to complete the no-hitter. Martinez, though, was his typical easy going self.

There’s a reason why his nickname is “Nicky Smiles.”

“Have you ever seen him pitch before?” asked Spencer Steer, who homered three times on Friday but wanted to shift the spotlight back over to Martinez. “He’s having a blast out there.”

Martinez said, “I try to be the same guy. If (the no-hitter) happens, it happens.”

One of the most memorable parts of the night was when Manny Machado nearly broke it up with a deep fly ball. Martinez and Machado traded a few barbs after Friedl caught that fly out in the top of the seventh inning. Martinez looked like this was just another inning, but in reality he was in the middle of a milestone start in his career.

“That’s a part of what makes him good,” Francona said. “You’ve got to stay true to your personality.”

Martinez had no-hitter stuff from the first inning on Friday. He was blowing pitches past some great hitters in the Padres’ lineup, mixing six different pitches for strikes and racking up swings and misses.

Martinez said that coming out of the bullpen over the last week helped him get some adrenaline back. It’s a long season, and pitching as a reliever forces him to simplify things. Pitching in a different role, he fell back into some great habits.

The biggest reason why he pitched out of the bullpen for two games was because Martinez knew it would help the team. In the process, he helped himself. There’s something beautiful in that.

“They said good things happen to good people,” Francona said. “It’s why you want veteran leaders on your ball club.”