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BOSTON – For the Red Sox, the pre-All-Star part of the season is ending pretty much the way it started: with JD Martinez on fire.
After his epic April (1,175 OPS), Martinez dipped slightly in May and a bit more for much of June as he described himself in “grind-it-out” mode.
Now he’s back to what he does best: ramming pitchers into the ground.
Leading the Sox to an 11-5 victory over the Phillies on Friday night at Fenway Park, Martinez hammered a three-run homerun in the reliever box and capped an 11 batting with an RBI brace.
Although Martinez is one of the most complex hitters in the game – so much so that every stroke he makes in batting practice is recorded on an iPad – the right-handed hitter believes the key to his recent resurgence has been to simplify its approach.
“I just try to keep it simple,” Martinez said. “Use my hands. And it looks a little silly, but go up there and just play pepper with the ball with my hands right now. It just calms my body down and I’m just trying to go over there and see how I can put the barrel on the bullet, really.
Before Martinez started pitching baseball again, he needed to regain his discipline at the plate.
“It starts with controlling the strike zone,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “At one point, he only had one goal in 70 at-bat. He started to walk, he started to drive the ball to right field. He’s still probably the most respected hitter in our roster.
“The opposition, they see it, and it’s still JD Martinez. He had very good drummers. Even the home run, he check-swing and it’s a foul ball. He kept making missteps, missteps. He gets a good pitch and drives him to the right center. This is who JD is. I’m just glad he’s who he is. He is relentless.
Martinez perfectly demonstrated his relentless approach when he met 11 shots against Enyel De Los Santos in the third. It was Martinez’s longest appearance at plate since June 29, 2017 and the longest appearance at plate for a hit of his career.
“It was a good battle,” Martinez said. “Like I said, right up there trying to find a barrel on the ball, trying not to chase. Just try to stay in the strike zone. I don’t know. I was really trying to chase. running short of balls throughout the fight.
The All-Star slugger has now reached base in each of his last 26 games – the Majors’ longest streak to date. In his last 11 games, Martinez reached 0.316 with an OPS of 1.203 (12 for 38, 10 points, three doubles, triples, four homers, 10 goals).
Aside from the strong swings and relentless strikes from Martinez, there were a few other interesting takeaways from Friday’s win, in which the Red Sox improved their record to 55-34.
Kiké’s latest launch explosion
It took a while for Kiké Hernández to find his place in the Boston batting order, but the veteran has officially found his place.
His thing is to hit the home runs. He did it again on Friday night, ripping Vince Velasquez’s third step – a 93.7 mph heater – on the Green Monster.
Of Hernández’s 11 home runs this season, five led the first round. Four of these departure circuits have taken place since June 27. All but three of his home runs this season have led a round.
“Good swing,” Cora said. “Obviously this first run hasn’t been our way with Garrett [Richards], but instant offense. That’s what we’re looking for – for him to chase fast bullets and do some damage, and he’s done that the last two homestands. He is well placed, he controls the strike zone, kicks the ball well.
Another mixed bag for Richards
On Friday, the first two runs, it looked like Richards was going to have another tough night. But as he’s gotten into the habit of doing lately, the right-hander found himself halfway through.
After allowing three runs and five hits in the first two innings, Richards finished his performance with three scoreless innings, breaking an eight-game winning streak.
“I’m starting to understand some things. In terms of streak, grip and hand position, ”said Richards. “Beginning to understand some really good things. “
Richards also seems to understand why he gets hit hard at the start of games.
“I filled the area a lot, threw a lot of strikes. I think it was a blessing and a curse to begin with, ”said Richards. “I feel like the guys kind of ambushed me early in the game, you know, with balls that maybe necessarily have to be in the middle of the plate because I’m trying so hard to fill the gap. zoned. I think I just need to do a better job of throwing some quality strikes early in the count, instead of having this mindset of just filling the area.
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