Nick Martinez, Tampa Bay’s picture of pitching consistency, will look to help the Rays clinch a potential playoff berth on Thursday afternoon when they play the finale of a three-game series against the host Atlanta Braves.
American League East-leading Tampa Bay (87-58) has a magic number of two to punch its ticket to the postseason for the first time since 2023. In order to qualify for the playoffs on Thursday, per MLB.com, the Rays will need to complete a series sweep of Atlanta and have either the Seattle Mariners defeat the Texas Rangers, or the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago White Sox.
The Braves (85-61) have lost three games in a row and four of their past five and have seen their lead in the National League East over the second-place Philadelphia Phillies melt to three games.
The Rays have 7-1 and 7-2 victories over Atlanta to begin the series and have won four of their past five games.
The right-handed Martinez (14-4, 3.04 ERA) will oppose veteran Atlanta left-hander Martin Perez (8-9, 3.25) in the finale on Thursday.
Martinez is coming off his career-high 14th quality start of the season when he defeated the Rangers on Friday, allowing three runs over 6 1/3 innings in a 7-6 victory. It was the 23rd time in 27 starts that he has surrendered three or fewer runs.
“Every (game) is very important right now,” Martinez said. “That’s got to be the focus — doing whatever we can to just win ballgames.”
Martinez will make his sixth career appearance (fifth start) against Atlanta, going 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA in those games. His most recent start against the Braves came in 2024, when he tossed seven scoreless innings while pitching for the Cincinnati Reds.
Perez continues to be a vital member of the Atlanta rotation. In his most recent start on Saturday, however, he allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings in a 4-2 loss to Philadelphia.
“I was missing too far, and I’m not normally missing that far,” said Perez, who walked four batters in the first inning. “I feel off-timing. I can’t find my rhythm from my wind-up, even in the stretch, and I was missing too much. I think that was a problem in the game. I was not attacking and then was behind in the count most of the time. And then they just put a lot of damage against me.”
Perez has made 20 career appearances (17 starts) against Tampa Bay, going 5-7 with a 6.04 ERA.
Tampa Bay’s offense continues to be productive. The Rays have scored six or more runs in five consecutive games and produced 10 hits on Wednesday, with only one starter failing to record a hit.
Atlanta native Chandler Simpson played a big part of the win with two hits, two runs and a stolen base. Simpson’s 41 steals lead the American League, and his .309 batting average is second to Houston’s Yordan Alvarez (.312).
The Braves made a roster move on Wednesday when they designated Elieser Hernandez for assignment and recalled left-hander Bailey Falter from Triple-A Gwinnett.
Falter was acquired from Kansas City, along with outfielder Lane Thomas, at the trade deadline last month. Falter made seven appearances (one start) for Gwinnett and fired 10 1/3 scoreless innings. He made his Braves debut with two scoreless innings on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
