Written by Post Public Information Representative, Aug 15, 2016, Comments Off
Courtesy Poinstreak Communications,
PHOTO COURTESY: TRACI O’DONNELL
DURHAM, NC- The official statistician of the American Association, Pointstreak, has announced that Gary SouthShore RailCats INF Frank Martinez (pictured) has been named this week’s Pointstreak Player of the Week for the week ending August 14.
This is Martinez’s second weekly honor in the past three weeks, as he was named the Pointstreak Player of the Week for the week ending July 31. This week, he hit .522 (12-for-23) with three doubles, two home runs and eight RBI.
After going hitless in his first two games of the week, on Tuesday and Wednesday against the St. Paul Saints, the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native bounced back in a big way on Thursday. In the opener of a road series at the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, Martinez was a perfect 5-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, two runs scored and five RBI. With his team trailing 5-3 in the top of the ninth, Martinez connected on a three-run home run to give Gary SouthShore the 6-5 advantage that would become the final score. He had driven in a pair on a two-RBI double in the seventh just to put the RailCats in position to take the lead in the ninth.
A day later, in a 5-4 loss, Martinez was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. He collected another hit Saturday in a 1-for-3 effort as the RailCats fell 7-2, and closed his week strong on Sunday in the finale of the series against the RedHawks. Martinez was 3-for-4 in Sunday’s game, hitting a two-run home run in a narrow 5-4 loss.
He is now batting .299 with 11 doubles, two triples, six home runs and 41 RBI in 50 games with the RailCats. Martinez also posted four doubles, four home runs and 15 RBI in 22 games with the Sioux Falls Canaries earlier this season.
Martinez comes to the American Association after a five-year stint in the Frontier League. He put together his best season in 2014 with the Southern Illinois Miners, batting .317 in 80 games, driving in 64 runs. Prior to joining the independent ranks, Martinez played six seasons in the Oakland Athletics’ system. He reached as high as the Class AA Midland (Tex.) RockHounds, where he played 14 games in 2008.
The RailCats open a home series against the Canaries tonight at 7:10 p.m. Central time from the U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Indiana. The entire series can be viewed live and for free at www.americanassociationbaseball.tv.
