Boston Red Sox: 3 great takeaways from Chicago White Sox series
The Boston Red Sox split their most recent series with the Chicago White Sox two games apiece. After blowing their previous opponents out of the water, it was a little disappointing to see Boston split the series, and particularly tough to see them get swept in yesterday’s double-header action.
Yesterday’s doubleheader sweep meant that today’s Patriot Day matinee would determine if the Red Sox could tie the series, and they teed off on Chicago’s pitchers early and often to guarantee the series wouldn’t be lost. It was nice to see the squad bounce back after a difficult day, and reaffirmed their status as the top team in the AL East so far.
With that little recap out of the way, lets take a deeper dive into the series, and look at three takeaways that Red Sox fans should know about as a result.
No. 3: Boston Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez continues to rake
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Martinez has easily been the hottest hitter out of the gate for the Red Sox, and he continued to terrorize opposing pitchers in the opening month of the season. Martinez picked up at least one hit in each game, and either drove in a run or came around to score in each game too.
Through just 17 games, Martinez is very close to either matching or surpassing some of his totals from last year’s shortened 60 game season. Martinez labored through a very underwhelming 2020 season which saw him only hit seven home runs and drive in 27 RBI’s. Yet so far in 2021, Martinez already has six home runs and 20 RBI’s, meaning there’s a good chance he could surpass his totals from last season in just one month.
Martinez did most of his damage in today’s game (as did most of the lineup for that matter), as he went 3-for-5 with a homerun and two runs batted in. Lucas Giolito left a breaking ball up in the zone, and Martinez absolutely launched it into the Green Monster. Had it not been for the National Car Rental sign hanging above the Monster seats, this ball would have easily carried over the wall and gone bouncing into the streets of Boston.
Martinez’s struggles last season were a microcosm of the Red Sox struggles as a whole, as he suddenly lost his ability to hit for power or contact. It’s been great to see Martinez rediscover his form to start the season, and if he can continue to hit at this rate for the entire season, the Red Sox offense as a whole will benefit greatly from it.