Cardinals' Carlos Martinez: Cruises through eight innings against Mets

Martinez (12-7) held the Mets to just four hits and one run over eight innings in Wednesday's 8-1 win. He struck out five and walked three.

Analysis:

The pitchers' duel between Martinez and Jacob deGrom failed to materialize, as deGrom struggled through 4.2 frames, giving the Dominican righty an early lead to work with. After giving up a run on a second-inning RBI double, the flamethrowing 24-year-old was barely touched for his six remaining frames, ultimately throwing only 97 pitches. He's done a better job limiting baserunners this year, having dropped his WHIP from last season's 1.29 to its current 1.18 mark, but his K/9 has plunged to a career-low 7.33, almost two full points lower than it was last year. That makes the present-day version of Martinez a reliable fantasy starter rather than an exciting one, although his long-term ceiling remains quite high.