Make no mistake, Nick Martinez was just bad for a second straight outing on Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles. But, it would've been nice for the young righty to have some help behind him, as well.
Instead, Elvis Andrus had a key error and a manageable inning turned into a really bad one, and Martinez's wheels fell off.
He fell victim to the long ball, giving up three home runs early in the night, and he ended his night after five innings while allowing eight runs (six earned) to follow up a night in which he lasted just 2 1/3 innings against the Detroit Tigers in his previous start.
It was just a bad night for Martinez, who gave up a season-high in home runs and saw his record fall to 1-6 with a 5.10 ERA. He'll look to bounce back, and the Rangers seem to like his mental toughness, but Tuesday night was not a good step in his early development.
