Nick Martinez looked to be picking up right where he left off in his last outing on Tuesday night after he allowed a first-pitch home run to leadoff hitter Brett Gardner.
The 23-year-old righty, who spent a month on the disabled list before making his return last week in The Bronx, stymied the Yankees again on Tuesday night in the early innings and cruised into the sixth inning with a 4-1 lead in search of only his second win of the season.
By the time the sixth inning was over, Martinez was watching from the dugout and he'd seen his lead evaporate as he ended up falling to 1-7 on the season after the Rangers' late rally fell short in a 12-11 Yankees win.
It was disappointing to see Martinez not be able to get out of the sixth inning, even if he was on a pitch count in just his second start back from the DL, and you can bet the Rangers' brass felt the same way about a kid they seem to like and believe can be a part of the 2015 picture on the big-league level.
Finishing out innings is a big deal to the Rangers' coaches, specifically Mike Maddux, and on Tuesday, Martinez failed to do so, whether it was his own fault or not.
