PHOENIX -- The Diamondbacks got a win Monday night, beating the Mariners, 8-4, in dramatic fashion, but the celebration was muted by an injury to closer Justin Martinez, who was forced to leave the game in the ninth inning due to tightness in his right elbow.
Martinez will undergo an MRI on Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury, but he’s almost certainly headed to the IL.
“My elbow was getting tight in the last few pitches, and I decided to call the trainer out to figure out what was going on,” Martinez said.
It was eerily similar to eight days earlier when ace Corbin Burnes threw a pitch and then waved for the training staff to come out. Burnes' injury turned out to be a torn ulnar collateral ligament, and he is scheduled to have Tommy John surgery on Wednesday.
Martinez had Tommy John surgery in 2021 and while Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo did not want to speculate on the extent of Martinez’s current elbow situation, he did say his level of concern was “high, very high.”
“It hurts me personally, because I love him,” Lovullo said. “He means so much to this organization, and to hear the crowd gasp and his teammates inside of the dugout screaming, ‘No!’ … it’s painful. It’s really painful. So, we're gonna keep our fingers crossed.”
The Diamondbacks were leading 4-0 at the time Martinez left with two outs in the ninth, but the Mariners rallied to tie the game and send it to extra innings. The Diamondbacks eventually won it in the 11th on Josh Naylor’s grand slam.
In the process, the Diamondbacks used every pitcher they had available. The only reliever not to pitch in the game was Christian Montes De Oca, who reported having elbow discomfort before the game and is also set to have an MRI taken Tuesday.
That means the Diamondbacks could have two or three new pitchers in their bullpen come Tuesday night’s game.
“There is going to be a new set of arms coming tomorrow,” Lovullo said.