After being swept at home by the Orioles in the first series of 2021, the Red Sox are back on track with back-to-back sweeps of the Rays and the O’s. The Sox are 6-3, tied for the best record in the American League.

The Red Sox have gotten prodigious offense up and down the lineup, but especially from J.D. Martinez, who is a torrid 17-for-36 (.472) with seven doubles, five home runs and 16 RBI over just eight games. Martinez has, in fact, recorded the most hits through the team’s first nine games of a season since Kevin Youkilis in 2009.

On Sunday, in the sweeping finale at Baltimore, Martinez—back in the lineup after missing a day to the COVID injury list—belted three solo home runs for the third time in his career. J.D. was cleared to play under Major League Baseball’s COVID protocols after he experienced what turned out to be symptoms of a cold the day before.

With his Sunday matinée, Martinez became the fifth Major League player with three home runs in games with three different teams (he did it also with the Diamondbacks and with the Tigers). The only other players to do that are Dave Kingman, Hall of Famer Johnny Mize, Alex Rodríguez, and Mark Teixeira.

Martinez is the first player in club history with at least one extra-base hit in the first seven games of the season and is just the fifth player in MLB history to do so. His 12 XBH are the most-ever by an American Leaguer through his first eight games of a season.

On Monday, Martinez was named American League Player of the Week presented by Chevrolet. It’s J.D.’s ninth such award overall, with seven of those coming in the AL. Martinez is just the third active player in the Majors with at least nine Player of the Week honors (also Albert Pujols and Justin Verlander).

With Rafael Devers‘ two home runs on Sunday the Red Sox became the first MLB team in 2021 to get multiple home runs from multiple players in the same game. It’s the first time that’s happened for Boston since June 1, 2016.

Prodigious Offense, Solid Pitching

The Red Sox are tied for the most doubles (25) in the major leagues, and lead their league in hits (93), runs (58) and AVG (.283). Only in walks has the team’s offense been a surprise, with the normally patient but now aggressive Sox batters, recording just 23 walks, the fewest in league.

The Red Sox have scored six or more runs and recorded 10 or more hits in each game of their six-game win streak. It’s the longest such streak since a seven-game stretch in May 2016.

At the same time, Boston pitching has been better than advertised, with a 3.29 FIP that’s fifth best in baseball. And while opponents have hit and had an on-base percentage that’s just a tick better than MLB average, Sox pitchers have limited damage with a .361 opponent slugging percentage that’s well below the .396 average.

Indeed, Sox pitchers have allowed the fewest home runs in the American League. On Sunday, reliever Austin Brice allowed the bullpen’s first home run of the season after the Boston pen had faced 189 consecutive batters (43.2 IP) without surrendering a home run.

J.D. Martinez is looking for a bounce back season after a rough 2020. Martinez was 57-for-211 (.213) in the abbreviated season, setting career lows in AVG and wOBA (.290). Martinez’ exit velocity averaged 89.5 miles per hour in 2020, the first time it has dipped below 90 MPH in the Statcast Era (since 2015).

This week, from spring training headquarters in Florida, Martinez said the uncertainty of the 2020 season schedule had a big impact on his state of readiness, not to mention Major League Baseball’s limitations on the use of in-game video as a result of sign-stealing scandals. Prior to 2020, Martinez had relied heavily on in-game video to analyze his at-bats and make quick adjustments for second and third plate appearances.

“It was my fault,” Martinez said of effects of exhibition season shutdown last spring. “I take accountability for that because I didn’t stay ready.” This year, he said, he told himself he wouldn’t let that happen again.

Break it down again

During the off-season Martinez worked on deconstructing his swing, something he says isn’t a natural swing for him, but rather a technique he taught himself. Through a process of elimination Martinez says he feels he has likely identified the root cause of his power outage and that an adjustment has made him more confident of a return to form. “It was almost like a logjam,” Martinez said. “Once you remove one log, everything started flowing again.”

The Sox are counting on Martinez for power. “We’ve seen how important his is to our lineup,” Baseball chief Chaim Bloom said last week. “He’s such a complete hitter when he’s right.”

For his part, Martinez says he will play with a bit of a chip on his shoulder in 2021, looking forward to contributing as he has in the past. But he’s also a realist. “I can’t sit here and say, ‘Yeah, guys, I’m back,” the slugger said. “The moment you think you got it figured out, this game humbles you real quick.”

Now, a few other notes of interest to Red Sox Nation:

• After the dramatic on-field impact of the Sox’ vaunted “payroll flexibility,” it’s easy to view the 2021 Red Sox as the penny pinchers. But at $205 million, Boston remains the team with the second highest payroll in the Majors thanks to dead money still owed to the likes of Dustin Pedroia, David Price, and Andrew Benintendi. Fortunately, a good chunk of that comes off the books after this season.
• Good sign: Look for more aggressive play from the Red Sox under Manager Alex Cora this season. Driving in the runner at third with less than two outs is a particular area of emphasis for him, saying that alone can be the difference 84 and 94 win in the season. “Infield back, man at third, one out, and you don’t put the ball in play with two strikes, that’s not just another strikeout,” Cora said, “That’s a bad strikeout.”
• Former Red Sox reliever Andrew Miller contracted COVID-19 ten days before the reporting day for Cardinals spring training. Miller said his symptoms were relatively minor while he quarantined at home. The now-35-year-old is entering the final year of his contract with St. Louis. Miller was 13-12 with a 3.79 ERA in 157 appearances with Boston, 2011-14.
• Best of luck to TJ Connelly as he exits after 15 years at Fenway Park’s DJ. Connelly is a musical savant who brought mirth and intelligent variety to the space between countless innings over the years. You can still hear Connelly’s great work on his new digital radio venture.

At the first official day of Spring Training in Florida, Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale said he is happy to be back with his teammates preparing for a new season, but had no timetable to share for his return.

“I don’t want to get too far ahead. I’m not looking at a month from now, two months from now, even, really, a season. I can’t. That wouldn’t be fair to myself or my teammates,” Sale said. “I take it a day at a time and I’m doing everything I can to get back out there as soon as I can.”

Having undergone Tommy John surgery last March, Sale said he’s following the advice of team trainers with regard to what he can do but confirmed he has yet to throw off the mound. He also admitted having recently visited with “some doctors” about neck discomfort but that he was “back on track.”

With regard to his elbow Sale was optimistic. “I feel great, now,” Sale said, emphasizing the difference between then and now. “My elbow has been on track since Day One, nothing off track with that, that’s been kind of steady through this whole process.”

COVID impact in 2020—and 2021

During last year’s pandemic-shortened season Sale stayed close to his home in Florida but worked out five day a week at JetBlue Park, recalling that there were days when he was the only one at the complex.

Sale revealed today that he had himself contracted a “mild” case of COVID-19 last month. “I lost my taste and smell for about a week. Had a runny nose for a couple days [but] fever never got above 99,” he said.

Welcomes return of Alex Cora

On Alex Cora’s return to the team’s helm after sitting out 2020, Sale was positive, saying that Cora brings “camaraderie, trust, [and] passion” to the organization. “There’s no question he brings it on a daily basis,” Sale said. “Everything that [Cora] does is to better either himself, his coaching staff, the team, the organization.

Throughout 2020, Sale said, he kept in touch with his former manager, saying that he believes having Cora back with the team “is a key part to this whole thing, moving forward.”

Mentoring Young Talent

The Red Sox may not have Sale on the mound any time soon, but he believes he can pay forward some of the mentorship he received as a younger player.

Sale said he has been impressed with the confidence and performance of Tanner Houck, who made his Major League debut with Boston last season. “He did everything he could have done to help his team win games and get his career off on the right foot.”

“I’m obviously not playing baseball and I’m making a lot of money to do it,” Sale admitted. “I better bring something to the table [and] that’s one of those things that I think I can do…while I’m not on the field bringing wins to the table.”

Spring Training exudes a sense of optimism, hope, and for baseball fans, not a small bit of joy. And after the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 season, no hope can be stronger than one for health—both of the players and the fans. No longer taken for granted, a full summer of baseball, complete with cheering fans in the stands, sounds better than ever, especially right now.

With revised health and safety standards in place for the new season, the Red Sox have announced their Spring Training slate, a total of 29 Grapefruit League games.

To limit travel, Major League teams this spring will face teams in the vicinity of their workout facilities. For Boston that means games against the Braves, Orioles, Pirates, Rays and Twins. In all, the Sox will play 15 home games and 14 on the road over 31 days.

At JetBlue Park, the Sox’ spring facility in Fort Myers, Florida, approximately 2,400 fans will be allowed to attend games, about one-quarter of the park’s regular capacity.

2021 Grapefruit League Games

Here’s the Red Sox full spring schedule. All times shown are Eastern.

Sunday, Feb. 28: at Minnesota, 1:05 PM
Monday, Mar. 1: vs. Atlanta, 1:05 PM
Tuesday, Mar. 2: vs. Tampa Bay, 1:05 PM
Wednesday, Mar. 3: at Minnesota, 1:05 PM
Thursday, Mar. 4: at Baltimore, 1:05 PM
Friday, Mar. 5: vs. Tampa Bay, 1:05 PM
Saturday, Mar. 6: vs. Minnesota, 1:05 PM
Sunday, Mar. 7: at Atlanta, 1:05 PM
Tuesday, Mar. 9: at Tamp Bay, TBD
Wednesday, Mar. 10: vs. Atlanta, 1:05 PM
Thursday: Mar. 11: at Minnesota, 1:05 PM
Friday, Mar. 12: vs. Tampa Bay, 1:05 PM
Saturday, Mar. 13: vs. Atlanta, 1:05 PM
Sunday, Mar. 14: at Minnesota, 1:05 PM
Monday, Mar. 15: at Tampa Bay, TBD
Tuesday, Mar. 16: vs. Atlanta, 1:05 PM
Wednesday, Mar. 17: vs. Minnesota, 1:05 PM
Friday, Mar. 19: vs. Tampa Bay, 1:05 PM
Saturday, Mar. 20: at Atlanta, 1:05 PM
Sunday, Mar. 21: vs. Pittsburgh, 1:05 PM
Monday, Mar. 22: at Tampa Bay, TBD
Tuesday, Mar. 23: at Atlanta, 1:05 PM
Wednesday, Mar. 24: vs. Baltimore, 6:05 PM
Thursday, Mar. 25: vs. Minnesota, 6:05 PM
Friday, Mar. 26: at Tampa Bay, TBD
Saturday, Mar. 27: at Pittsburgh, 1:05 PM
Sunday, Mar. 28: vs. Minnesota, 1:05 PM
Monday, Mar. 29: at Atlanta, 1:05 PM
Tuesday, Mar. 30: vs. Atlanta, 1:05 PM