Steve Webb
CHAVEZ RAVINE, CA — There has been so much talk about Mookie and Freddie this season, it’s easy to ignore just how awesome of a season that J.D. Martinez has been putting together. After a down 2022, Martinez has flourished in Dodger Blue, and no better evidence of this than Monday night at Club Ravine. Martinez hit two dingers and drove in five as the Dodgers started off their home stand in impressive fashion with an 8-3 win over the Detroit Tigers.
It was Detroit where J.D. came of age as a big leaguer nearly a decade ago. And he gave the Tigers a taste of what they traded away back in 2017. He looked every bit like good ol’ “Just Dingers” Martinez of his heyday. In the second inning, he gave the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead with a little oppo taco off starter Eduardo “I don’t want to be a Dodger” Rodriguez. Then, in the third, after Mookie walked and Freddie single, Martinez hit a mammoth shot down the left field line. The only question when it left the bat is which zip code it would land in.
Finally, in the seventh, Martinez drove in one more for good measure on a two-out single. In all, it was a 3-for-4 night for J.D. with the two bombs and five driven in. Not a bad day at the office. Martinez now has a .874 OPS with 28 home runs. A great addition to Andrew Friedman’s mix-and-match lineup for 2023.
Pitching-wise, it wouldn’t be a Lance Lynn start unless there were a homer for the other team. And after 4.2 innings of scoreless ball, Lynn gladly obliged. This time, it was three-run job off the bat of catcher Jake Rogers. However, the Dodgers were piling on runs (Miguel Rojas pitched in with a homer, Will Smith had a sac fly, and Enrique Hernandez delivered an RBI single), so the Lynn homer didn’t really make a big impact on the outcome of the game. Once Lynn exited the game, the bullpen was awesome, pitching four perfect innings. It was a great start to the home stand, and yet one more step closer to notching yet another 100-win season.
The Dodgers go for their 93rd win on Tuesday with another match-up against the Tigers. This time, it’s going to be a lot of Ryan Pepiot, probably in a bulk role, continuing his extended audition for a postseason role. Game time, 7:10 pm.
