Raidel Martínez Earns 13th Save of the Season, Nine Away from All-Time Foreign Pitcher Record in Japanese Baseball

May 18, 2026

Cuban closer Raidel Martínez, of the Yomiuri Giants, earned his 13th save of the 2026 season and the 225th of his career in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) on Sunday, placing him just nine rescues away from tying the all-time saves record for a foreign pitcher in Japanese professional baseball.

The right-hander from Pinar del Río nailed down the final out of a 1-0 Yomiuri Giants shutout over the DeNA Stars, striking out two and walking one, a performance that dropped his earned run average to 1.76 on the season.

With the Sunday save, Martínez drew level with Venezuelan José Quijada for the lead among closers in the Central League, one of the two circuits that make up Japan's top professional baseball tournament.

Beyond the rivalry with Quijada for the current season's saves title, Martínez is closing in on the career record of 234 saves held by American Dennis Sarfate, the all-time leader among foreign-born pitchers in NPB history.

Born in Pinar del Río on January 14, 1996, Martínez has now spent nine seasons in Japanese baseball — the first seven with the Chunichi Dragons and, since 2025, with the Giants — building one of the most remarkable careers of any Latin American pitcher in NPB history. In his first season with Yomiuri in 2025, he tallied 46 saves, tying the all-time Central League single-season record.

(Source: Cubadebate / ACN)