J.D. Martinez was signed by the Red Sox in the offseason to help make an impact in the Boston lineup, and the veteran slugger certainly has delivered.
The slugger ended the regular season with 130 RBIs and 43 home runs, which etched him into Red Sox history. With his three-run round-tripper in the fourth inning of Sunday’s 10-2 win over the New York Yankees, Martinez surpassed Dick Stuart for the most home runs hit in a player’s first year with the Sox. Stuart held the record since 1963.
Aside from breaking a 55-year-old record, Martinez’s RBIs and homers also leave him among some pretty elite company.
Although it was a regular season for the record books for No. 28, the postseason now is a priority for Boston.
“It’s been fun. The guys have been great,” Martinez said after the game, as seen on NESN’s Red Sox postgame coverage. “It was exciting but now we’re focused on the playoffs.”
Here are some other notes from Sunday’s Red Sox-Yankees game:
— Mookie Betts ended the regular season with an American League-leading .346 average to go along with 47 doubles, 32 home runs, 80 RBIs, 129 runs scored and 30 stolen bases.
“I knew he was good, but to see it on a daily basis is eye-opening,” Sox manager Alex Cora said after the game. “From day one in Spring Training he put the work (in), he’s a good student of the game.”
Betts had a stellar campaign for the Red Sox, and if you ask Martinez, he’s a no-brainer to win the AL MVP award.
“If he’s not your MVP I don’t know who is,” Martinez said.
— The Red Sox finished the season with the best record in Major League Baseball at 108-54.
“We kept playing good baseball. They did a good job,” Cora said. “Got better throughout (the season), defensively, running the bases. It was a total team effort. It was a solid season.”
— After a less-than-stellar outing in Saturday’s loss in which he surrendered three earned runs on four hits with two walks, Eduardo Rodriguez bounced back with a scoreless, hitless fifth inning that included two strikeouts.
“A lot better than yesterday,” Cora said. “I talked to him last night (and said) ‘Hey man, you got one inning tomorrow. We have to pitch with some conviction.’ And he did.”
— Boston will begin the ALDS on Friday at Fenway Park, with its opponent to be determined Wednesday night when the Oakland Athletics and Yankees battle in the AL Wild Card Game.
