Martinez took a no-hitter into the ninth inning and had retired 22 straight Padres after walking Jackson Merrill with two outs in the first inning.
Martinez walked No.8 hitter Trent Brooks to open the ninth, San Diego’s second base runner.
San Diego manager Mike Shildt sent up a pinch-hitter to bat for No. 9 hitter Martin Maldonado in the personage of Elias Diaz, hitting .215.
On Martinez’s 112th pitch of the night, Diaz ruined the night for 26,746 fans by lining a double up the left center gap.
Steer?
He homered in the second, fourth and fifth. After his third homer, the fans were demanding a curtain call, but the shy and humble Steer refused.
“It’s not about me,” Steer told reporters after the game. “It was only the fifth and we still had a lot of ball game left. That’s not me.”
Steer is the first Reds player to homer three times in one game since Jesse Winker hit three in St. Louis in June of 2021.
On his fourth at bat with a chance to match the four home runs Scooter Gennett hit for the Reds, he struck out. And the fans gave him a standing ovation.
“That’s was pretty cool,” said Steer. “I actually sucked that one in a little bit. Pretty cool.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Steer picked on three different pitches — a 382-footer to right field off starter Dylan Cease’s 97 miles an hour fastball, a 403-footer to left field off Cease’s 88 miles an hour slider and a 354-footer to left field off relief pitcher Yuki Matsui’s 88 miles an hour splitter.
Martinez, just as humble as Steer, was thrilled despite losing the no-hitter.
“Just happy we won,” he told reporters. “Obviously, that’s a good team right in front us in the wild card, the boys came out banging, the defense made some good plays for me, Stevie (catcher Tyler Stephenson) did a heck of a job behind the plate calling pitches.
“I was really just focusing on the next pitch all night and threw whatever he called,” he added.
The Padres hit few balls hard and the Reds didn’t have to make a spectacular play. Shortstop Elly De La Cruz went deep in the hole to make on difficult play and right fielder Will Benson made two catches after long runs.
Martinez pitched two years for the Padres before signing with the Reds as a free agent and is close to several Padres, including Manny Machado.
He hit the deepest ball of the game, a fly to the warning track in center, “And I thought it was a homer,” said Martinez. “I looked at him and he shook his head and said, ‘No, I didn’t get it.’” Center fielder TJ Friedl snagged it.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Martinez knew very early that he was on the no-hit trail and told reporters, “The demons in my head were talkin to me in the fourth. It was early-on but I was able to fight‘em off and keep my focus on one pitch at a time.”
Martinez’s last start was seven days ago and he gave up seven runs and seven hits in only 2 2/3 innings in a 12-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins.
After such a short outing, Martinez volunteered to work out of the bullpen before Friday’s start, if necessary. Manager Tito Francona took him up on it and Martinez pitched two perfect innings last Saturday in St. Louis and a perfect inning against the New York Yankees Monday.
“That’s as nervous as I’ve been in a long, long time,” said Francona, who removed Martinez immediately after Diaz’s double. “They say good things happen to good people and what he did this week going to the bullpen made it seem like he deserved that.
“I just think when you have your head in the right place and your attitude in the right place you end up being in the right place,” he added.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
The Reds scored two runs in the first, aided by an error by right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. and a run-scoring passed ball on Maldonado. The Reds lead MLB with 62 first-inning runs and are 30-7 when they score first.
Steer’s first homer in the second gave the Reds a 3-0 lead, his second homer leading off the fourth gave them a 4-0 lead.
The Reds tucked it away with four runs off relief pitcher Yuki Matsui in the fifth. The inning included Speer’s third homer and a run-scoring double by Austin Hays, fresh off the injured list and playing his first game since May 28.
Meanwhile, Martinez was mowing down the Padres like a professional lawn care service, but his pitch count mounted. To make certain Martinez didn’t spot somebody warming up in the bullpen while he was pitching a no-hitter, Francona had Taylor Rogers warming up in a hidden spot.
Of Steer’s day, Francona said, “How about that. It’s so funny because he is so humble. He wasn’t comfortable coming (for a curtain call). I think it’s pretty cool that he is so modest and humble.
“But that was fun to watch,” he added. “When you hit a ball the other way (Steer’s first homer) with authority, you’re doing something right.”
On this night, Martinez and Steer did more than everything right and the rest of the team did everything right.
NEXT GAME
Who: San Diego at Cincinnati
When: 4:10 p.m.
TV: FanDuel Sports
Radio: 1410-AM, 700-AM
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