Martinez struck out eight batters over seven shutout innings in Monday's game against the Diamondbacks, but was dealt a no-decision in the Cardinals' eventual walk-off victory.

This might have been Martinez's best start of the season. In addition to making batters whiff and minimizing the damage on the five hits he allowed (all were singles), Martinez generated 11 ground balls against just two flies. However, he was cruelly denied the win when eighth-inning reliever Kevin Siegrist served up a game-tying two-run blast to Mark Trumbo. Nonetheless, the 23-year-old seems to be delivering on the promise that made him one of the top pitching prospects in baseball prior to his 2013 MLB debut. He's held the opposition scoreless over his last 14 frames and has struck out 56 batters across 53.1 innings on the season.

Martinez (4-2) tossed 6.1 shutout innings Wednesday, working around four hits and two walks while striking out five in a 9-0 rout of the Mets.

Martinez has had his share of struggles recently, but a date with the Mets' scuffling offense was just what the doctor ordered. He did have a decent outing in his last start, striking out eight while allowing two runs in five innings against Detroit, so Martinez looks like he's getting back on the right track. He'll need to keep it up against the Diamondbacks on Monday, though, to convince us that he's truly turned a corner.

Martinez had a taxing outing Friday, pitching five innings and allowing two runs with eight strikeouts in the 10-4 loss to the Tigers.

Martinez really labored through five and went out to start the sixth, but walked the leadoff hitter in four pitches and was pulled after 103 pitches. We saw both sides of Martinez tonight as he struck out eight, but allowed nine base runners in just five innings. He'll look to be more efficient on Wednesday when he takes on the struggling Mets.

Martinez struggled Saturday night, allowing seven earned runs in 5.1 innings in the 7-5 loss to the Pirates.

This was Martinez's second straight dud and his control issues have really been an issue. He allowed four walks in this game along with seven hits and seven strikeouts. Things don't get any easier for Martinez as he faces the Tigers in his next matchup next Friday.

Martinez (3-0) had his worst outing of the season Tuesday against the Cubs, giving up seven runs in 3.2 innings on one home run, nine hits and four walks.

This was an outlier for Martinez, who had only allowed a combined five runs in his four previous starts. His ERA is up to 3.64 after Tuesday's start but he's still striking out 8.49 batters per nine innings.

Martinez (3-0) allowed six hits, three walks and two runs to go with three strikeouts in Wednesday's win over the Phillies.

Martinez picked up his third win in a row and has yet to give up more than two runs in a game this season. Though he started the season in the bullpen, Martinez has proved to be an impressive starter and he'll look to build on his success in his next start Monday against the Cubs.

Martinez struck out eight and walked two while giving up four hits over seven scoreless innings in a winning effort against the Brewers on Friday night.

In Friday's start, Martinez was able to get ahead of hitters regularly and pound the strike zone (68 strikes, 98 pitches). The eight strikeouts matched his season high, and Martinez's improved control early on this season (seven walks in 20 innings) bodes well for his chances of taking a big step forward in 2015. Martinez will take on the Phillies in his next start Wednesday.

Martinez won his first game of the season, giving up just one run on three hits and two walks over six innings, striking out four.

He's now got a stellar 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 13:5 K:BB ratio through his first 13 innings on the season. Martinez will look to make it two W's in a row in his next start, on the road against a struggling Brewers offense.

Martinez was solid in his first start Sunday against the Reds, pitching six innings while surrendering two runs on four hits and two walks, striking out eight.

Two solo home runs from Billy Hamilton and Jay Bruce accounted for all of the damage. He'll need to get more efficient moving forward as he threw 100 pitches Sunday, but it's a good start to what could be a breakout season for Martinez.

Martinez will start Sunday against the Reds.

Tuesday's rainout would have given manager Mike Matheny a perfect excuse to skip Martinez, but he will keep his rotation order intact, with ace Adam Wainwright moving back to start Monday's home opener. Martinez pitched an inning out of the bullpen on Opening Night, earning a hold with a clean frame.

Martinez looked strong in his final spring start, throwing six shutout innings on three hits and a walk while striking out five.

Martinez has long said he'd prefer to be a starter and in his first start after being confirmed as the clubs fifth starter, Martinez delivered his best outing of the spring. He has some definite sleeper appeal heading into 2015 and while he would likely have an innings limit he could be a good source of wins and strikeouts before that time comes.

Martinez will start the fifth game of the season for the Cardinals barring an injury moving him up, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Martinez was considered the heavy favorite for the spot with the news that Jaime Garcia suffered a setback with his throwing shoulder. That appears to be confirmed, which will likely leaves Marco Gonzalez bound for Triple-A. In seven starts with the Cardinals last season, Martinez lasted a total of 32.2 innings and posted a 4.45 ERA and 1.64 WHIP with 34 strikeouts.

Martinez appears to be the favorite to win the fifth starter spot for the Cardinals, the St. Louis Post Dispatch's Derrick Goold reports.

Jaime Garcia had a setback with his surgically-repaired shoulder and will be shut down, eliminating him from the competition. Martinez is in line to start Wednesday, and while the Cardinals have not announced who the fifth starter will be, they did announce that they will only take five starters with them to start the season. Given the way the schedules line up, it appears Marco Gonzales is ticketed for Triple-A. While Martinez has more upside than Gonzales, the former has also had major issues pitching deep into games, as he is often inefficient with his pitches. Whoever is in that role is worth a flier in most formats, but expectations should be tempered.

Martinez will get the start Friday in a split squad game against Washington, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

With Jaime Garcia coming on strong the last couple of weeks, Martinez may no longer be the favorite for the last rotation spot. Garcia is owed over $9 million this year and doesn't have the bullpen experience or arsenal that Martinez does. It's a good sign that Martinez is getting another start but it's looking like a bullpen role could be the more likely outcome at this point. A decision is likely to be made some time next week.

Martinez pitched three shutout innings in relief Saturday, allowing just one hit and one walk while fanning three batters.

Martinez bounced back nicely after his previous outing saw him get roughed up a bit. He keeps pace with both Marco Gonzales and Jaime Garcia who are also having a very good spring. Garcia might have the tiebreaker, though, with his $9 million salary for 2015.

Martinez was roughed up in a start for the first time this spring, allowing five runs over 3.2 innings pitched against the Twins Sunday.

Martinez didn't get into trouble until the third and fourth innings when all the damage was done. Manager Mike Matheny did not seem too concerned with his rough outing so Martinez should still be the front-runner for now for the fifth spot in the rotation.

Martinez was terrific in his spring debut for the Cardinals Thursday, throwing two perfect innings and striking out three on 29 pitches.

Martinez was the front-runner for the final rotation spot coming into the spring and has distanced himself further from the field with Thursday's stellar debut. It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise after he was the Cardinals best pitcher during last years spring training.

Martinez will take the mound as the Cardinals starter in their first game this spring against Miami, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Martinez is considered the front-runner for the Cardinals' final rotation spot this year. Tyler Lyons will replace Martinez in Thursday's game and both are expected to throw 30-40 pitches.

Martinez has drawn interest from yet another team this winter as the Phillies wanted him included in a potential deal for Cole Hamels, the St. Louis Dispatch reports.

Martinez has been a popular target in teams negotiating with the Cardinals this winter as the Braves and White Sox both expressed interest as well. All signs point to Martinez being the favorite for the final rotation spot as he's shaping up to be a popular sleeper pick this spring.

Martinez's spring training locker will be located next to Yadier Molina's, MLB.com reports.

It's a good sign that the Cardinals have some interest in developing Martinez into a starter for 2015. Martinez has to be considered the front-runner for the fifth spot in the Cardinals rotation. It's possible it's just a coincidence, but that's probably unlikely.