BOSTON — It goes beyond the sacrifice fly in the first inning, the walk drawn in the second and the solo home run to left center in the seventh.
For J.D. Martinez, it’s much simpler to quantify success at the plate.
Both balls the outfielder put in play during Saturday’s 10-3 demolition of Tampa Bay were hit in the air, exactly what Martinez is hoping to do each time he digs in from the right side. His [...]
BOSTON — It goes beyond the sacrifice fly in the first inning, the walk drawn in the second and the solo home run to left center in the seventh.
For J.D. Martinez, it’s much simpler to quantify success at the plate.
Both balls the outfielder put in play during Saturday’s 10-3 demolition of Tampa Bay were hit in the air, exactly what Martinez is hoping to do each time he digs in from the right side. His success last season made him one of the prime examples of the latest hitting trend in the game — launch angle.
“I preach about getting the ball in the air,” Martinez said. “Whenever you see me and I’m hitting ground ball after ground ball, you know I’m not feeling right.”
Martinez was released by the Houston Astros in 2014 after hitting just seven home runs the previous season. He was a 26-year-old in the midst of swing changes, just starting the work with California guru Craig Wallenbrock that would see him progress to a career-high 45 homers between two teams in 2017. Martinez developed into one of the most coveted free agents on the market last winter, inking a five-year, $110-million deal with Boston.
Martinez put the ball in play 317 times last year in 119 games with Detroit and Arizona, hitting it in the air on 199 of those occasions. He found the bleachers 22.6 percent of the time, including 29 homers in just 62 games with the Diamondbacks. Whether or not his power will play at Fenway Park was evident in the first inning on Saturday, as Martinez was slightly jammed on an inside fastball from Jake Faria and still found the warning track in deep right center.
“The one with the bases loaded he mis-hit, and that ball kept going,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “That’s a good sign. I guarantee you after that one he felt better.”
Martinez finally broke through for his first home run with his new team in his final at-bat of the day, crushing a pitch from Chaz Roe onto Lansdowne Street. It was the 10th ball he’s put in play in the air this season compared with nine on the ground.
He hit two more balls in the air on Sunday but had nothing to show for it, going 0-for-4. He lined to right in the first, flew to deep right in the fourth and struck out twice.
Pedey making progress
Dustin Pedroia (left knee) is expected to run the bases Tuesday prior to the 7:05 p.m. first pitch against the Yankees, the final step in his rehabilitation from offseason surgery.
Cora said Pedroia has been taking batting practice for the last month and participated in pregame infield-outfield workout with Boston’s regulars on Saturday. He did the same during the brief two-game stint on the natural grass at Miami. Pedroia skipped on-field workouts on the somewhat harsher turf surface at Tropicana Field during the season’s first series against the Rays.
“I know it’s tough for him right now just to watch and not be part of it, but he’s helping out, too,” Cora said. “In the dugout and the clubhouse, he’s helping.”
Pedroia underwent cartilage restoration surgery on the knee in October. The 34-year-old will further jam an infield rotation between second base and third base that includes Eduardo Nunez, Brock Holt and Rafael Devers.
“He looked a lot better than what I saw in October,” Cora said. “That’s awesome. That’s good. He was moving well, hopping and turning double plays.”
Tweaking the lineup
Jackie Bradley Jr. received the day off on Sunday, with Andrew Benintendi sliding to center field and Martinez starting in left. That opened the designated hitter spot for Hanley Ramirez and allowed Cora to start Mitch Moreland at first base against Tampa Bay right-hander Andrew Kittredge.
The Red Sox have another scheduled off day Monday before playing 13 straight, including home series against the Yankees and Orioles and a West Coast swing against the Angels and Athletics.
“There’s a lot of stuff that goes into play that’s going to help us get Mitch going,” Cora said. “It’s going to help Brock get into games. We’re going to keep guys off their feet.
“And I know it’s early and we had three off days and all that, but for everything to work the way I want it to — and we want it to as an organization — some guys are going to have certain days off.”
Bogaerts injured
Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts left Boston's game with the Rays on Sunday in the seventh inning after injuring his left ankle while chasing an errant throw by Martinez that took him toward the Rays dugout.
He needed help to get off the field and left with a noticeable limp. Holt replaced him at short.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-- bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25