J.D. Martinez struck out twice Thursday night, disagreed with one of those calls and ended up hitting the game-winning home run in the top of the ninth inning of the Boston Red Sox’s 8-7 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays.
It was a big ninth inning for Boston, propelled by the bottom of the order before Martinez made all the difference, and manager Alex Cora knows the designated hitter always is one swing away from changing the game.
“He works hard on his craft,” Cora said on Zoom after the game. “… He’s one at-bat away from changing the game.”
And that’s exactly what happened at TD Ballpark.
“J.D.’s one of the best hitters in the game,” Matt Barnes, who picked up his 10th save of the season, said.
Not only did the home run help keep the Red Sox in sole possession of first place, it also marked the 250th home run of Martinez’s career.
“It’s a blessing from God,” he said. “I would never imagine I’d hit 250 if you told me that 10 years ago. God guided me and got me to here. I give thanks to Him.”
Here are some other notes from Thursday’s Red Sox-Blue Jays game:
— Michael Chavis was one of the members of the team to contribute to the big ninth inning, but he did make an error at second.
“He’s been OK,” Cora said. “… I’m glad he kept his head up today and kept grinding.”
— Nick Pivetta didn’t get the win, but did give the Red Sox five innings and eight strikeouts.
TD Ballpark is a spring training facility that underwent some changes in order to act more like a Major League Baseball park. Cora noted some struggles that could come with playing in a small park, but Pivetta wasn’t going to use that as an excuse for his seven hits and four earned runs.
“I still gotta make pitches at the end of the day,” he said.
— Speaking of Pivetta, the Red Sox are pretty good in his starts. Check out this stat:
— The win keeps Boston atop the American League East standings, something that looked like it could be in danger in the ninth inning.
“Any time you can win a series, especially on the road, that’s huge,” Barnes said.
Cora seems to agree.
“What an amazing win.”
Pivetta also enjoyed watching his team come back.
“It’s a huge team win. It’s massive. … It’s incredible what these guys can do.”
— Bobby Dalbec hit a home run to put Boston up 3-2. He now leads the team with 16 RBIs in the month of May, according to Red Sox Notes.
