J.D. Martinez sent a reminder to the Baltimore Orioles that he’s still among the most feared sluggers in the game. He attacked the first pitch he saw from David Hess, sending it 416 feet to dead-center for a two-run homer that gave the Boston Red Sox a first-inning lead.
The blast was noteworthy not only for drawing first blood in an eventual Red Sox victory. It was also the 200th home run of Martinez’ career.
Martinez tallied his 200th home run in his 957th career game, making him the seventh-fastest active major league player to reach that total, according to the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.