Red Sox: J.D. Martinez aims to bust out of slump in Detroit

Boston Red Sox star J.D. Martinez has been in a brutal slump

A discouraging sweep in Tampa Bay extended the current losing streak to a season-high four games for the Boston Red Sox. A variety of factors have worked against them during this rough patch but the struggles of J.D. Martinez have been among the most notable.

Martinez started the second half strong during a five-game road trip coming out of the break but he’s been ice cold ever since. The All-Star designated hitter is 5-for-44 (.113) over his last 11 games. A pair of doubles are his only extra-base hits during that stretch and he’s tallied only two RBI.

He went 1-for-14 during the three-game sweep in Tampa Bay, culminating in an 0-for-5 performance on Sunday Night Baseball.

Boston rallied in the seventh inning by scoring on a wild pitch to trim the lead to one run. A Kike Hernandez single and a Rafael Devers walk put two runners on base for Martinez with the chance to drive in the tying or go-ahead runs but he grounded into a weak fielder’s choice to end the inning.

Martinez had one last chance at redemption with the Red Sox still trailing by one in the ninth inning following a pair of singles by those same two top of the order hitters. The veteran DH flied out to end the game.

That’s the way it has gone lately for Martinez. He’s had his chances but hasn’t been able to come through in the clutch, an uncharacteristic development for a hitter who is batting .333 with runners in scoring position this season. Martinez is hitting a scorching .356 with runners in scoring position and two outs but he failed twice in that same situation in his latest game against the Rays.

This needs to change if the Red Sox are going to turn their fortunes around and it starts with a three-game series with the Tigers that begins on Tuesday. A return to his old stomping grounds might help Martinez shake out of this funk. Detroit is the city where he broke out as a star over parts of four seasons with the Tigers.

Comerica Park is a venue Martinez has always been comfortable in. He’s a career .316/.375/.600 hitter in 239 career games in the Tigers’ home stadium. He’s also had plenty of success as an opposing player, hitting .323/.384/.538 in 17 career games against Detroit.

The Tigers have a pitching staff that Martinez should feast on. Detroit pitchers rank 22nd in the majors with a 4.49 ERA and 27th with a 4.62 xFIP. They don’t miss many bats, ranking 27th with a 8.14 K/9. Martinez should be able to put the ball in play against this staff and his fortunes are bound to change to allow a few more of those balls to fall in for hits.

Boston’s schedule gets a brief reprieve in Detroit before another divisional-heavy stretch with more meetings against the Blue Jays, Rays and Yankees over the next few weeks. The Red Sox need to beat up on the Tigers to get back on track before facing this pivotal stretch.

Getting the bat of Martinez going in the middle of the lineup will go a long way toward getting this offense humming again. Martinez has many great memories from his time in Detroit so it’s the perfect setting for him to push aside the memories of his recent slump to begin a new hot streak.