Daily Red Sox Links: J.D. Martinez? More like J.D. MAYtinez

J.D. Martinez is one of the best hitters in baseball. You can tell by his .342/.394/.624 slash line, his 10 home runs and his 24 runs scored. Can you argue that there are some weak points? Sure. His BABIP of .427 is unsustainable and his 7.9 percent walk rate is somewhat concerning, but as long as he keeps hitting like he has during the first half of May, it won’t matter. Since we entered the fifth month of the season, Martinez has been ripping baseballs. He’s hitting .354/.415/.729 during the month with a weighted on-base average of .479 and five home runs in 53 plate appearances. He smashed another dinger on Sunday, going 2-for-3 with three RBI. He has a hit in 11 of 12 games in May, with six multi-hit efforts.

Surprisingly, May has not always been so kind to Martinez. In his career, he has slashed .261/.335/.502 in the month, which is perfectly fine, but with his .837 OPS is lower than any other month. His power has usually been there, though, as he has 30 home runs in 574 May plate appearance, which is behind only June (31). Clearly he is rewriting this May troubles narrative, which is already a bit arbitrary anyway.

Obviously there are still plenty of plate appearances in store for Martinez during the rest of May and the season as a whole, but its just awesome seeing a guy who was brought in to mash do just that. I just thought I’d remind everyone of it once again. Let’s keep appreciating it.

With Drew Pomeranz only making it through a little more than four innings yesterday, the Red Sox got a brilliant performance from the bullpen to get a win. (Nick Cafardo; Boston Globe)

Mookie Betts can do anything. (Christopher Smith; MassLive)

Which means its pretty difficult to get him out. (Matthew Kory; The Athletic) ($$)

Jackie Bradley Jr. is still having a pretty terrible season offensively, but a 1-for-3 showing yesterday could help push him forward. (Peter Abraham; Boston Globe)

The first quarter of the season has been mostly great for the Red Sox. (Jen McCaffrey; The Athletic) ($$)

Tonight’s series opener against the A’s should be interesting since Sean Manaea is pitching for Oakland. You remember Manaea. He threw a no-hitter against the Red Sox earlier this season. (Peter Abraham; Boston Globe)

Hanley Ramirez is the best. (Chris Landers; MLB.com)

I’m no doctor, but something tells me that playing Fortnite isn’t what’s ailing David Price. Just let him have some fun. (Harry Lyles Jr.; SB Nation)