Raidel Martínez Records His Fourth Save of the Season with the Yomiuri Giants

April 14, 2026

Cuban pitcher Raidel Martínez recorded his fourth save in as many outings this Tuesday in the current Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) season, securing a 4-3 victory for the Yomiuri Giants over the Hanshin Tigers at the historic Hanshin Koshien Stadium before more than 42,000 fans.

The right-hander from Pinar del Río delivered another composed performance from the mound: one inning pitched, just one hit allowed, no runs, and a strikeout to close out the game. Four outings, four saves — a perfect sequence that cements his standing as a clutch specialist.

Through this young campaign, Martínez has logged four innings of work with three hits allowed, three strikeouts, and just one earned run. The performance extends the dominant streak that saw him lead the Central League in saves in 2025 with 46 rescues, a single-season league record. He had previously led that category in 2022 and 2024 while with the Chunichi Dragons, recording 39 and 43 saves respectively.

The Yomiuri Giants, bolstered by the reliability of their closer, sit at 8 wins and 7 losses, third in the Central League behind the Hanshin Tigers (11-5) and Yakult Swallows (11-4) in a standings race that is just beginning to take shape.