Chicago White Sox right-hander Davis Martin rarely gives up home runs. That’s what made his last start such an anomaly.
Martin was tagged for three long balls by the New York Yankees in his worst outing of the season. He will try to get back on track as his team attempts to salvage the finale of a three-game series in Detroit on Sunday.
Martin (9-3, 3.31 ERA) gave up nine runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings of a 12-2 loss at New York on Tuesday. Martin had given up just three home runs in his first 13 starts.
“Obviously, (the Yankees have) a good lineup. Things kind of unraveled pretty quickly,” Martin said. “The biggest thing is just losing the zone a little bit. That would be my biggest frustration (on Tuesday).”
Martin doesn’t need to have a long memory to know he can bounce back from a poor outing. He gave up six runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings to Minnesota in his first June start, also a road loss. He responded with six shutout innings against Atlanta in a 2-1 home win on June 10.
“I can do it again. Tuesday’s start does not define me or my season,” Martin said. “My thought is, it’s a constant process of continuing to get better. The game is always going to show you something you can learn. I learned a lot (Tuesday). I’ll take that to the next start. Continue to push forward.”
Martin has faced the Tigers six times in his career (five starts), posting a 1-2 record and 3.86 ERA.
His mound opponent, Keider Montero, finds himself back in the rotation due to Justin Verlander’s ongoing health issues. Verlander made only one start before being sidelined by left hip inflammation. The 43-year-old right-hander finally was on the verge of being activated when he suffered a hamstring strain during a bullpen session.
Verlander was scheduled to start on Sunday.
“This is the first time anything like this has happened to me, where it’s consecutive injuries,” Verlander said. “This whole process has been agonizingly long for me, especially considering where we were early on in thinking it was going to be a short-term injury. It’s disappointing to say the least.”
Montero (3-5, 3.67) came out of the bullpen on Tuesday, giving up two runs (one earned) in 1 1/3 innings against Houston. In his most recent start, Montero tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings against Minnesota on June 11 in a 11-0 home victory.
The 25-year-old right-hander has held the opposition to a .211 batting average in his 13 starts.
“He’s becoming a more well-rounded pitcher,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Early on as a young pitcher … he would try to get after it by throwing the ball in the big part of the zone. You want strike-throwers, but then you start to refine it, you start to use your pitches correctly, you start to gain confidence in more than one way to get hitters out.”
Dillon Dingler has been the hitting star in the series. He has five hits in the first two games, including a mammoth home run to center field during Detroit’s 4-1 victory on Saturday. Dingler leads the Tigers with 17 homers and 53 RBIs.
–Field Level Media
