The Angel Martinez breakout season has been well-documented at this point. The multi-hit games. The home run that set the tone in Monday’s win over the Cardinals. The .319 batting average that nobody saw coming from a player who entered 2026 still working to establish himself at the big league level.
But a stat surfaced on Tuesday that puts everything into a completely different perspective.
“When Angel Martinez steps to the plate and hits a home run, you might as well start planning the postgame celebration. The Guardians are 14-2 in games where Martinez goes deep. That’s not just a good record, that’s a statistical phenomenon,” the Cleveland Baseball Podcast wrote.
In every game across his career where Angel Martinez has hit a home run, the Guardians have won 14 of those 16 contests. That is an 87.5 percent winning percentage.
Now, there is an obvious statistical reality at play here. Teams that hit home runs in general tend to win those games at a higher rate than teams that do not.
But 14-2 is not just a reflection of that general truth. This is a player whose home run swings have come in moments and in games where Cleveland was positioned to capitalize. It speaks to the kind of hitter Martinez is becoming, one who elevates his game when the offense needs a spark.
Martinez is slashing .319/.385/.511 with a .895 OPS and a 155 OPS+ through 17 games. He has two home runs, seven RBIs, and six multi-hit games, tied with Steven Kwan for the team lead.
The Guardians’ coaching staff has clearly helped him unlock something,
The team is 10-7 overall through 17 games in 2026 and sitting in first place in the AL Central.
If Martinez keeps going deep, Cleveland fans may not need to worry much about the final score.
The result is already written.
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