Pedro Martinez sees himself in Astros SP Cristian Javier

Houston Astros starting pitcher Cristian Javier is just a little over two years removed from his MLB debut, but one of the all-time greats at his position has already seen enough from Javier to heap high praise on him.

Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez weighed in on Houston’s starter for Game 4 of the World Series during MLB Network’s pregame coverage on Wednesday, noting that he sees a little bit of himself in the fellow Dominican Republic native.

“If you ask me about a guy that I can say is probably going to end up being just like me, it’s going to be Cristian Javier,” Martinez said. “The way he holds the ball, the way he releases the ball, the leverage he has on his legs—and his breaking ball might be a little bit above mine, because I developed my breaking ball late.

“But this guy has a fastball that, when he keeps it up in the strike zone and he locates it, it plays against anybody. It doesn’t matter who it is. And his breaking ball is second to none. The guy is in the top list of guys most difficult to hit with the fastball, and with the breaking ball.”

Martinez added that he believes Javier is the Astros’ “best bet right now” as they look to even the series at two games a piece following a Game 3 loss that included a seven-run explosion by the Philadelphia Phillies’ offense.

Javier impressed in his only start of the 2022 playoffs, when he struck out five while allowing only one hit in 5 1/3 shutout innings, as Houston beat the New York Yankees 5-0 in Game 3 of the ALCS. Javier also posted career-bests in ERA (2.54), wins (11), hits per nine innings (5.4), home runs per nine innings (1.0) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.7) during the regular season.

“He’s battle tested, and this is a guy that I would call a cold-blooded killer,” Martinez said. “This is a guy that does not get intimidated by the moment. This is one of the guys I can actually compare to the way it was. Smooth, easy, he will just fool you with any pitch. His fastball really plays around the strike zone.”

Game 4 of the World Series is scheduled to get underway Wednesday at 7:03 p.m. CT in Philadelphia.