The Los Angeles Dodgers picked up a 5-0 shutout against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday, backed by a gem from Clayton Kershaw and J.D. Martinez hitting two home runs.
The second homer hit by Martinez extended the Dodgers’ lead and gave him a personal milestone. Martinez now has 300 career home runs despite being unable to find his footing at the Major League level with the Houston Astros before breaking out with the Detroit Tigers.
Martinez ended up slugging 99 homers over four seasons for the Tigers. He got traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks for the second half of 2017, where he blasted 29 home runs in just 67 games. After that, the designated hitter signed with the Boston Red Sox, where he hit 130 long balls over five seasons.
The 35-year-old signed with the Dodgers this past offseason after a down year, but he has rebounded with 18 homers so far in 2023 Martinez reflected on his path to reach 300 career home runs during an interview with Kirsten Watson on SportsNet LA:
“Obviously it’s a big achievement. Just for my career, where I started and where I’m at now, I give all the blessing to God. It’s been a rollercoaster ride of a career, but I’m very fortunate I’ve been blessed.”
Martinez was in a bit of a rough stretch before his two-homer game. His last dinger came on June 10 against the Philadelphia Phillies, as reaching 300 was something that was on his mind quite a bit.
The five-time All-Star may have been pressing a bit to reach the mark, but as the Dodgers went on the road, Martinez stopped thinking about his chase for 300, and the results showed up for him:
“Honestly, I was thinking about it back home when we were in L.A., because the guys kept talking about it. So it was kind of in my head. It wasn’t even in my head today. When (David) Peralta greeted me, the first thing he said was, ‘Congratulations.’ I was like, ‘Congrats? Oh, crap. That was 300. Yeah.’ It kind of caught me off guard, but that was cool.”
Martinez is now batting .258/.304/.579 with 18 homers, 51 RBI and 35 runs scored across 62 games as the Dodgers’ primary DH. Last season, he hit 16 homers total across 139 games while batting .274/.341/.448.
J.D. Martinez on track to start All-Star Game
Martinez was among the Dodgers who advanced to Phase 2 of voting as National League finalists for the 93rd Midsummer Classic that is being played at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
Fans can complete a ballot once every 24 hours during the current period, which closes at 9 a.m. PT on Thursday. Complete All-Star Game starters will be unveiled on ESPN later that night.
Martinez is the current leader for the NL DH spot ahead of Phillies star Bryce Harper.
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