The Boston Red Sox are smoking hot, closing the unofficial first half of the season winning 17 of their last 20 games to take a Major League Baseball-best 68-30 record into the All-Star break.
Thanks to that stretch, the Sox currently sit 4 1/2 games ahead of the rival New York Yankees in the American League East. And a lot of Boston’s success can be attributed to the ridiculous performances from All-Stars Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez.
With Boston’s second half set to begin Friday, here are six stats that show just how incredible the Red Sox’s dynamic duo has been this year.
Bomb Squad:Â Martinez hit 29 home runs in the first half, while Betts cranked 23, giving them 52 combined through 98 games. That is the best mark of any duo in MLB at this point, including the much-hyped duo of Aaron Judge & Giancarlo Stanton, who have clubbed 48 homers combined.
Home Cooking: Best player at home? You Betts. The star right fielder has been spectacular at Fenway Park. Betts leads all of baseball at home with a batting average of .410, a 1.284 OPS, and an on-base percentage of .497.
Triple Crown Martinez: Martinez is a legitimate Triple Crown contender. He is looking to become the first Red Sox player since Carl Yastrzemski back in 1967 to capture the prize. The slugger is tied for the MLB lead in home runs (29), leads in RBI (80) and is third in batting average (.328).
Power Sluggers: Betts and Martinez already have solidified themselves as two of the best hitters in the game of baseball. The Sox’s dynamic duo are the only two players to have 20 home runs and a batting average of .320 or above at this point in the year. Betts and Martinez are first and second in slugging percentage, respectively and are in the top three in OPS.
Elite Company: You know you’re in rarified air when your name is mentioned alongside David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Jim Rice and Fred Lynn. Martinez and Betts became the third pair of Red Sox teammates to eclipse 200 total bases by the All-Star break. Ortiz and Ramirez accomplished the feat in 2004, while Rice and Lynn did so in 1979.
Reach For The Sky: There’s no doubt that Martinez and Betts are MVP candidates. And as ludicrous as it sounds, both of these prolific hitters can continue to get better.  Betts only is eight home runs shy of tying his career-high in home runs for a season, while Martinez only needs 16 more dingers to match his career high. If Martinez can continue to hit bombs and surpass his career best, we could be talking about a historic season for Boston’s stars.
