Leonys Martin went 0-for-4 with a strikeout hitting in the leadoff spot for the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night, but the rookie center fielder had more than enough impact on the game with his arm.
Martin, who now has six outfield assists in his past seven games and 10 on the season, saw that number bolstered with two more victims on Wednesday night, both at third base, that saved at least one, if not two runs in the Rangers' 5-4, come-from-behind win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Martin, who gunned down fellow rookie Jean Segura at home when the teams met in May in Milwaukee, caught the speedster again in the first inning when Segura tried to go from first to third base on a relatively shallow single to center.
Later on, Martin nailed Carlos Gomez in the sixth inning, likely saving another run and keeping his team in the game with his cannon arm even on a night when he couldn't get anything going at the plate.
Martin's new teammate, Wednesday's starter Matt Garza, said he couldn't believe other teams are still trying to run on the Cuban import, and it's hard not to agree.
"I don't know why guys still run on him," Garza told ESPNDallas.com. "That's what I said to the guys, 'why do they still run on him?' You have two of the fastest guys thrown out going first and third in Gomez and Segura."
" I'd just stopped running on him. I just stay. If the ball is anywhere near him, I'd just stay with one base. It's not even worth it. It's awesome to have that kind of arm out there."
