ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Martinez continues home run splurge with game-tying shot vs. Padres
J.D. Martinez doing what he does best to help even the score vs. the Padres pic.twitter.com/QyeIDOi8zu
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 21, 2017
The beginning — and the middle — didn’t look good.
What became a 13-7 rout first looked like deja vu of the night prior, when A.J. Pollock began the night against the San Diego Padres with a lead-off home run and hit a second one later on only to see his Arizona Diamondbacks lose after producing no other offense.
On Wednesday, it was David Peralta leading off and smacking a game-opening homer. Jake Lamb followed with his own in the second to put Arizona ahead 2-0 before starting pitcher Robbie Ray began scuffling. After he allowed five earned runs and reliever J.J. Hoover allowed another through just five innings, Arizona trailed San Diego 6-2.
Finally, Arizona put together a string of strong at-bats in the top of the sixth, and a comeback half-inning that ended with a 6-6 tie was capped by none other than slugger J.D. Martinez ripping a two-run homer to right-center field.
The back-to-back National League Player of the Week’s 41st bomb of the year was his 12th of September, pacing him just one behind Arizona record-holder Luis Gonzalez’s month-long stretch of 15 jacks in April 2001.
Through 17 games this month, Martinez is tied for third in NL history for the number of home runs in September. He trails only Troy Tulowitzki’s 15 homers for the Rockies in 30 games of September 2010 and Alfonso Soriano’s 14 in 28 games for the Cubs in September 2007.
Against the Padres on Wednesday, Martinez got some much-needed help before he finished off the four-run frame.
First, it was D-backs pinch-hitter Ildemaro Vargas singling for his first MLB hit. Peralta walked before a Ketel Marte double and Paul Goldschmidt sac-fly scored the first two runs, making it 6-4.
With Marte on base, Martinez slung a high, 94-mph fastball off Dinelson Lamet out of the park to tie the game, and in the next inning, Peralta doubled to score Chris Herrmann for the go-ahead run.
The D-backs would pile on 11 straight runs to turn the four-run deficit in a seven-run lead before a ninth-inning solo shot by Hunter Renfroe, his third homer of the night, made for a 13-7 final score.
