CLEVELAND -- When Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was asked this week where he liked playing the versatile Angel Martínez the most defensively, he smiled and replied “on the field.”
Martínez showed why on Wednesday. The 23-year-old crushed a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning, off lefty Alex Vesia, to send the Guardians to a 7-4 win over the Dodgers at Progressive Field. Cleveland avoided a three-game sweep with the win.
Martínez was among those across the roster who contributed on Wednesday, when All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan was removed after three innings for precautionary reasons due to right wrist inflammation. Here are three key figures from the win.
Angel Martínez
Martínez had a mature mentality when he stepped up to face Vesia with runners on first and second and one out in the eighth.
“I just take it like any other AB,” Martínez said through interpreter Agustin Rivero. “I try to give the same importance to all of them, because my mindset is always put yourself in the position where you can help the team.”
Martínez got a 91.2 mph four-seamer over the heart of the plate and hit it a Statcast-projected 394 feet over the left-field wall. It was the switch-hitter’s first career homer from the right side.
Martínez’s emergence has been huge since the Guardians recalled him from Columbus on April 8. He’s played four positions this season (each outfield spot and second base), though he has spent the most time in center (35 appearances, including 30 starts). He’s slashing .270/.292/.409.
Opening Day center fielder Lane Thomas has been limited to 17 games due to injuries. Thomas (who spent one month on the 10-day IL with a right wrist bone bruise) was activated on Thursday, though he missed Wednesday’s game with right plantar fasciitis.
Martínez has filled in well in center. He made a big defensive play in the eighth, throwing out Freddie Freeman when he tried to stretch a single to right-center field into a double.
“I’m always ready in those situations to try to make my best throw,” Martínez said.
Kolby Allard
Allard hadn’t pitched since last Wednesday vs. the Twins. He held the Dodgers to two runs on four hits over four innings with three strikeouts on 62 pitches. It was on short-notice, too; the Guardians let him know Tuesday night he would start.
“He got swing and miss, got weak contact,” Vogt said. “I know they got the two runs off of him there in the fourth. But man, for not pitching for a week, and then coming out and giving us four solid, solid innings, he gave us a chance to win.”
Allard had a 5.99 ERA in 76 games (42 starts) with the Braves, Rangers and Phillies from 2018-24, and he signed a Minor League deal with the Guardians on Feb. 3. He has been stellar for Cleveland since being promoted from Triple-A Columbus on April 26 with a 2.05 ERA in 22 innings over nine appearances.
“Everything I’ve been through over the last six, seven, eight years, I think has all in all set me up for moments like this,” Allard said. “I was pretty calm, cool and collected, and just [went] out there and tried to put up as many zeros as we could put up today.”
Nolan Jones
Jones was not in the starting lineup against lefty Clayton Kershaw, but duty called after Kwan exited in the fourth. Jones then hit a game-tying two-run single off Tanner Scott in the eighth and went 3-for-3. He had two hits against lefties, against which he was 0-for-13 in just 18 plate appearances entering the day.
Jones has had a tough season to date (.568 OPS in 50 games). He was asked what he can take from his first two seasons in the Majors, which included a stellar 2023 season (20 homers, .931 OPS) and a down ‘24 in which he dealt with injuries (.641 OPS in 79 games).
“I’ve been through it before,” Jones said. “I think that's the main thing, is that the first time you're struggling in the Major Leagues, it's tough. You're on TV every night, people are messaging you and everything else, and it's real. I think that to be able to tune that out and know that I've been through it.
“I think the hardest thing is to believe you belong in the big leagues, and I've been really good in the big leagues. So I'm able to put my trust in that and continue working. These coaches have done a really great job of giving me the confidence that they believe in me, and working with me through the really, really tough start that I've had. I think that goes a long way.”