J.D. Martinez was among the contributors in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers that extended their season-best winning streak to nine games.
The veteran slugger was in the Dodgers lineup for the first time since August 6 as he had been dealing with a left groin/adductor injury. Martinez went 1-for-4 in his return, hitting an RBI double that broke a tie in the sixth inning.
The six-time All-Star admitted he was a bit anxious but felt like he had a productive first game back, via SportsNet LA:
“It was good. A little bit nerve-racking at first. I hadn’t been out there in a while, so you always get nervous with stuff like that. It felt good to be able to come through and get that hit when we needed it.”
Prior to his return to the Dodgers lineup on Tuesday, Martinez had logged just 10 plate appearances since July 30. He previously missed time in late April and early May because of lower back tightness.
When healthy, Martinez has been a major factor in the Dodgers lineup. He enters play Wednesday batting .259/.311/.557 with 23 doubles, 25 home runs and 77 RBI in 88 games this season.
Why didn’t Dodgers place J.D. Martinez on injured list?
Martinez missed a total of eight games over the last week and a half but was not placed on the 10-day injured list. He underwent an MRI and received an epidural to help manage his lower body injury.
“I think with J.D. in this situation, it just doesn’t seem like an IL would make sense, because he’s not in the field and it’s not a workload thing,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained.
“It’s just more of some days he’ll come in and feel good and other days it’s almost like it’s debilitating. So after that epidural, we feel it takes a few days and he should be good to go.”
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