Raidel Martínez Records His Fifth Save of the 2026 Season with the Yomiuri Giants

April 16, 2026

Cuban closer Raidel Martínez recorded his fifth save of the 2026 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) season on Thursday, April 16, securing a 4-3 victory for the Yomiuri Giants over the Hanshin Tigers at Hanshin Koshien Stadium.

The right-hander from Pinar del Río was dominant in the ninth inning, retiring all three batters in order to close out the narrow win. With this performance, Martínez climbs to second place in the Central League save standings with five rescues, trailing only Venezuelan José Quijada of the Yakult Swallows, who leads with seven.

Despite a delayed start to the campaign, the Cuban closer has been sharp: five innings pitched, just one earned run allowed, three hits, and three strikeouts on the season. Over nine NPB campaigns, Martínez has accumulated 217 career saves, cementing his status among the most dominant foreign closers in Japanese baseball history. Last season (2025), he tied the single-season saves record with 46, a mark he shares with Hitoki Iwase, Kyuji Fujikawa, and Shinya Matsuyama.