Red Sox: Three up, three down heading into the All-Star break

J.D. Martinez was never really down, but he did hit a minor slump as the weather got warmer. After hitting .307 in April, Martinez went 23-for-90 for a .256 batting average in May. He found his power swing, smashing seven home runs in May after hitting just two in April, but his OPS dropped and he struck out more often. Clearly, he just needed to put the two parts of his game together; it was just a matter of when he would get there.

Turns out, he was just waiting for June. He began the month 6-for-14 and finished 31-for-100 with seven doubles, a triple, and seven more homers. His OBP jumped by almost 40 points, and his slugging percentage rose by almost 70. He combined his average from April and his power from May to bring out in June the J.D. Martinez we all know and love.

Right now, the Red Sox need that J.D. more than ever. Without reliable pitching, Boston needs to score as many runs as it can every day in order to win. Martinez is the key to the offense. When he’s going, everyone around him hits better too.