J.D. Martinez Reportedly Out Tuesday Against Toronto With Illness
By James.r
J.D. Martinez will sit out Tuesday night's game against the Blue Jays with an illness, according to Pete Abraham from the Boston Globe. It will be the Sox slugger's second consecutive game off, after he missed just two of the team's first 46 games, though Alex Cora attributed Monday's absence to a scheduled off day.
JD Martinez is sick.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) May 21, 2019
Any time Martinez is missing from the lineup, the Red Sox have large shoes to fill in the cleanup spot, as the DH/OF is having another great season. Martinez currently sports a .308 average and .910 ops to pair with nine home runs and 29 RBI.
JD Martinez is sick and thus not DHing: Benintendi LF, Betts RF, Moreland DH, Bogaerts SS, Devers 3B, Chavis 2B, Vázquez C, Bradley CF, Pearce 1B, Rodriguez starts
— Michael Silverman (@MikeSilvermanBB) May 21, 2019
In Martinez's place will be Mitch Moreland, who will DH and bat fourth against Toronto. Moreland presents a significant downgrade in terms of consistency, but he has shown some serious pop this season, as he already has 12 home runs and 31 RBI, as well as a barrage of clutch hits.
First pitch for tonight's game is scheduled for 7:07 PM EDT. Word will likely come down mid-afternoon Wednesday about whether Martinez will be back in the lineup on Wednesday night.