Top-5 games by Red Sox hitters during the 2021 season

J.D. Martinez has a three-homer game with the Red Sox

No Red Sox hitter was more eager to put the disastrous 2020 season behind them than J.D. Martinez. It didn’t take long for him to prove his bat was back on track.

The Red Sox were seeking revenge on the Orioles for sweeping them in the season-opening series at Fenway. They got it by taking all three games in Baltimore the following weekend, capped by a monstrous performance by Martinez in the series finale.

Boston jumped out to an early lead in the third inning with back-to-back homers by Alex Verdugo and Martinez. The veteran DH had to settle for a solo shot after his teammate cleared the bases with a three-run shot.

Martinez added a base hit through the left side of the infield in the fifth inning to drive in a run, sending Orioles starter Jorge Jopez to an early shower. He would come around to score on a three-run homer by Devers as the Red Sox started to run away with a 9-1 lead.

Another run was tacked on when Martinez led off the sixth inning with a solo shot to deep right field.

Baltimore started to chip away at the lead over the next few innings to cut their deficit to three. Martinez grabbed the momentum back for Boston with another solo shot in the eighth inning. The Red Sox would score three more runs in the inning to double up the Orioles 14-7, which would hold as the final score.

The Red Sox managed 14 runs but somehow struggled to get anyone on base in front of Martinez. Three homers and all of them with the bases empty. His only opportunity to drive in a run, aside from himself, was on his RBI single. The four hits and four RBI both matched his season high.

Martinez had a three-homer game during his tenure with the Tigers plus a four-homer game with the Diamondbacks in 2017. This was his first three-home run game in a Red Sox uniform though. Martinez is the first Red Sox hitter to collect three home runs in a single game since Mookie Betts in 2019. Betts did it five times during his time in Boston, more than any hitter in franchise history.

The home runs would dwindle following his early power surge but Martinez still finished with a respectable 28 while leading the league with 42 doubles. His brutal 2020 season is now a distant memory as Martinez reminded us that he’s still one of the game’s most feared hitters.