San Diego Padres: 3 things I heard inside the clubhouse in Denver

San Diego Padres pitcher Nick Martinez on his mindset and winning

With Musgrove scratched, Martinez made his fifth start of the season on Wednesday. It was his first start since April 19, a game where the right-hander threw 7.0 shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves. There certainly was no expectation of great length against the Rockies for Martinez, who has come out of the bullpen and not pitched more than 3.0 innings since that time. That includes Wednesday's start in Colorado where he hurled a trio of shutout frames, allowing just one hit and striking out three to set the tone for the rest of the day for Padres pitchers.

Martinez didn't have long to prepare mentally for the start with Musgrove being a late scratch, but he proved he was ready to answer the call whenever needed.

"They came to me last (Tuesday) night and that's how many (innings) I could give," Martinez said. "I was up to the challenge. Given the situation, they needed someone. I'm able to do that. I still see myself as a starter. I'm not built up for it, but I felt like I was good enough to get to 35 to 40 pitches."

With 38 pitches, Martinez gave the Padres exactly what they needed on Wednesday and also served a reminder that, if needed, he can take the ball to open the game and set a needed tone.