J.D. Martinez shined bright at Great American Ball Park
The Boston Red Sox beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-3, at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday night.
The win puts the Red Sox at 72-75 on the year, and the Reds dropped to 58-90 on the season.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The power hasn’t always been there for the Red Sox, but it came through for them Tuesday night. After TJ Friedl hit a home run to tie the game at one run apiece in the bottom of the third inning, Rob Refsnyder took the lead back for Boston with a solo shot of his own. J.D. Martinez followed up an inning later by crushing a pitch off Cincinnati starter Nick Lodolo to right-center field 420 feet. And to cap off the night, Rafael Devers launched a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning to give Boston a cushion it needed.
After a giving up a single and striking out a batter to open up the bottom of the ninth, Matt Strahm walked three straight batters to give up a run to cut the lead to three. Manager Alex Cora brought on John Schreiber to escape the jam, close out the inning and win the game. The right-hander did just that giving up a sacrifice fly and a ground ball.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Martinez was just a single and a double away from hitting for the cycle. The Red Sox designated hitter went 2-for-4 with his first triple of the season and his 12th home run of the year.
— Refsnyder hit his fifth home run of the year that was good for 410 feet. He finished his night 1-for-2 at the plate with one walk.
— Donovan Solano was one of the Reds’ batting leaders Tuesday night. The first baseman went 3-for-4 on the night with a double.
WAGER WATCH
Refsnyder’s home run prop closed at 6-to-1 on DraftKings Sportsbook. This means a $100 bet on the Red Sox centerfielder would have paid out $700.
ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox will complete their two-game series against the Reds on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled at 6:40 p.m. ET, and you can catch full coverage using NESN 360, along with an hour of pregame.