Red Sox DH J.D. Martinez crushes his first homer of 2020
It’s been a long and miserable road to tonight for the Red Sox and J.D. Martinez. Boston’s power slugger is usually cranking balls out of the park left and right by the time of the year, but not in 2020. Between the stalled spring training, long layoff, and rushed summer camp, the DH just hasn’t found his groove. Though he was putting on a hitting clinic during camp in July, his bat went ice-cold once the regular season began.
Going into tonight’s clash with the Rays, Martinez’s slash was downright nauseating. The slugger is posting a .196/.274/.321/.596 line so far in 2020 with just 11 hits to 15 strikeouts. When you look at his numbers it just feels likes something is missing and nobody has the answer to what.
THAT BALL IS NOW ORBITING THE SUN. pic.twitter.com/K1aB6BytJL
— Red Sox (@RedSox) August 11, 2020
We’ve heard the slugger make some excuses for his cold start such as not having enough at-bats ahead of the season and not being able to use the video rooms, but that’ll only get you so far. I get that this season is offering up some serious hurdles thanks to COVID-19 running rampant throughout the world, but you’re still one of the best hitters in the game and you need to figure it out.
Red Sox outfielder Kevin Pillar had heard enough of the excuses around the league and was clear with his message, adapt. Well, whatever J.D. has been doing sure hasn’t been working, but something today seems to have finally clicked for the slugger.
As we make our way into the seventh inning he’s 2-2 on the night with a walk and two runs. Pretty good day of work at the plate for Boston’s big DH, but we’re here to talk about one thing, and one thing only. It has felt like ages since we saw Martinez crack a bomb in a real baseball game but that drought came to an end tonight.
With the bases empty in the bottom of the third inning, J.D. strolled to the plate with the weight of the world on his shoulders. If you’ve watched him at the dish this season then you know exactly what I’m talking about. But with one smooth swing, he sent a baseball over the Green Monster and probably smashed some poor soul’s car window. Finally, that goose egg underneath the “HR,” tab on his stat page would change.
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I’m sure if there were fans at Fenway Park we would’ve seen some more emotion from the big man but he was reserved as he rounded the bases. Yeah, he finally got his first homer of the season, but the Red Sox have a deep hole to dig themselves out of if they want postseason baseball. This week will prove to be a do-or-die for Boston as they just came off of a three-game stand with Toronto, are starting four with Tampa, and then head to the Bronx for three.
This stretch against their divisional rivals could either turn this season around or be the final nail in the coffin. Martinez will need to continue to find his swing and return to the form that Red Sox Nation knows he can achieve. There are far too many quiet bats in the lineup for him to not separate from the pack.
He may have started the season on the wrong foot but tonight just may be the game he needs to salvage 2020. Not to mention, we’ll need him to start smacking more bombs to balance out Boston’s pitchers who love giving up runs. Now that Xander Bogaerts, Mitch Moreland, Alex Verdugo, and Michael Chavis are finding their grooves, adding Martinez to that list sure wouldn’t hurt.
The Red Sox are going to need every weapon in their offensive arsenal to off-set the massive pitching issue they have this season. Tonight was another step in the right direction, at least for J.D. Martinez. If he can continue to have smooth and effortless swings like we’re used to seeing from him, then Boston can have a fighting chance for October. One thing’s for certain, he sure looked pretty damn relieved rounding those bases.