The Red Sox notched their 76th win of the season, and Chris Martin was one of the main reasons. Heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Red Sox trailed the White Sox 2-1. An Adam Duvall sacrifice fly and Masataka Yoshida go-ahead RBI single put Boston up 3-2. Boston called on Martin to finish the game and hold the one-run lead in the ninth. Martin sat down Chicago in order to record his third save of the season. On top of that, the scoreless inning pitched by Martin lowered his ERA to 1.05, and for pitchers with over 50 innings pitched, he has the best ERA in baseball.
Boston signed Martin to a two-year, 17.5 million dollar contract this offseason. The Red Sox could not have asked for much more from the 37-year-old reliever from Arlington, Texas. In the disappointing second half of the season, Martin has been a bright spot for the team. Not to mention that the Red Sox reliever has not allowed a run in his last 20 games, according to J.P. Long. Overall, with the Red Sox out of the wild card race, it is important to see what you have on the roster as the team prepares for next season.
Chris Martin:
— J.P. Long (@SoxNotes) September 23, 2023
- MLB-best 1.05 ERA (min. 50.0 IP)
- 0 runs allowed in last 20 games
- 1 run allowed in his last 37 games
Martin appeared in 12 games in the month of August, and Boston won 10 of those games. Including a nine-game stretch of games, he appeared in that the Red Sox were victorious. The key to winning for Boston the entire year was getting to Martin and Kenley Jansen leading by a run or a tied game. Whenever the Red Sox could stay in the game or lead late, these two elite bullpen arms shut down opposing offenses. So far, Martin has pitched in 55 games, and the Red Sox record in those games is 41-14.
The problem for Boston arose when they could not utilize Martin's arm as the team collectively ranked 22nd in the MLB in ERA at 4.61. It's not much different from the 2022 season, where Boston had a 4.53-team ERA and was also in last place in the AL East. There are two seasons to forget for Red Sox fans outside the youth development and stars like Martin. Boston is now searching for a new Chief Baseball Officer after firing Chaim Bloom this month. The Red Sox will search for a replacement and prepare for another baseball season, looking to improve on two subpar seasons for their high standards.