Martinez -- who wore the moniker "Tricky" on the back of his jersey for the opener of Players Weekend -- allowed three runs in seven innings, but the offense couldn't support him and the Rangers lost to the last-place Athletics, 3-1, on Friday night at the Coliseum. The Rangers are now two games behind the Twins in the Wild Card race.
Martinez allowed just four hits and two were home runs by Khris Davis, who now has 15 in 28 career games against the Rangers.
"A lot of things were encouraging by Nick tonight," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said.