TORONTO --- This is why teams with financial muscles like the Red Sox are seldom hesitant to flex them in free agency.


J.D. Martinez was widely considered to be the top bat on the market this winter, and Thursday against the Blue Jays was the latest example of the superior length he offers to Boston’s lineup.


Martinez drove a three-run homer to the opposite field in the top of the fifth inning, turning the rubber game of the series on its head. The Red Sox went from [...]

Bill Koch

TORONTO --- This is why teams with financial muscles like the Red Sox are seldom hesitant to flex them in free agency.

J.D. Martinez was widely considered to be the top bat on the market this winter, and Thursday against the Blue Jays was the latest example of the superior length he offers to Boston’s lineup.

Martinez drove a three-run homer to the opposite field in the top of the fifth inning, turning the rubber game of the series on its head. The Red Sox went from trailing by a run to enjoying all the cushion they would require in a 5-4 victory at Rogers Centre.

Martinez got on top of a high fastball from Aaron Sanchez and hit a rope into the visiting bullpen in right, one that barely cleared the tall blue fence. His key swing resulted in a first home run in eight days, one that came at the perfect time to give Boston the spark it required finishing the lengthy road trip. Carson Smith and Matt Barnes patched their way through the seventh and eighth before Craig Kimbrel closed things out with a 1-2-3 ninth.

“It seems like lately we’ve been scuffling a little bit at the plate,” Martinez said. “Trying to find ways to put up runs – to get it done was huge.”

Martinez dug in after back-to-back two-out singles by Andrew Benintendi and Hanley Ramirez, as the Red Sox had a threat out of nothing in a 3-2 game. Martinez jumped on the first pitch from Sanchez and put Boston ahead to stay, the change in momentum starting pitcher Chris Sale required to extend his career good fortune against Toronto. Red Sox manager Alex Cora couldn’t help but think back to former teammate Manny Ramirez, a name he mentioned alongside Martinez in spring training when searching for another dangerous slugger.

“I know they’re different, but Manny used to do that,” Cora said. "Any given day he’d stay back, hit a line drive and it just carries out of the ballpark.”

By Sale’s own lofty standards against the Blue Jays, this was a bit of a struggle. The left-hander dominated Toronto through four starts last season, striking out 43 and allowing just 19 hits in 27 innings of work. The Blue Jays nicked Sale for single runs in each of the first three frames, including solo homers by Devon Travis and Justin Smoak.

“Sometimes you get into a groove,” Sale said. “Sometimes you throw too many strikes. I feel like that might have got me the first few innings today.”

Sale was able to persevere long enough for the Red Sox to grab him the lead, and he protected it through the sixth before giving way to the bullpen. Sale retired 10 of the final 11 men he faced, only issuing a 10-pitch walk to Teoscar Hernandez in the fifth. Sale’s four strikeouts were his second-fewest in a Boston uniform, and he needed 104 pitches to record his 18 outs.

Sale’s final hitter was Randal Grichuk, and Cora took a trip to the mound prior to the at-bat to consult with his ace. Joe Kelly’s suspension took a reliable arm out of play in Boston’s relief corps, and Kimbrel was in line to work a rare third straight night at the back end. Sale convinced Cora he could retire Grichuk to finish his outing and did so on one pitch, forcing a high pop to catcher Christian Vazquez.

“He’s still Chris Sale,” Cora said. “Even when he’s not at his best, he’s better than a lot of guys.”

Benintendi’s RBI double to the corner in right snapped an 0-for-16 slide, putting the Red Sox on the board in the second, and Rafael Devers drove a sacrifice fly to deep left center in the third to help Boston keep pace. It was the 10th time in just 24 games the Red Sox have come from behind to win this season.

 

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On Twitter: @BillKoch25