Eduardo Rodriguez. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- J.D. Martinez belted his baseball-leading 20th homer in the Red Sox 6-0 shutout of the Tigers last night at Fenway. Had to feel pretty good against his old team, though he said it wasn't personal.
That's five long-balls for Martinez his last 10 games.
Would J.D. say he's in a groove?
"I feel like I'm off and on, you know?" Martinez said. "One day, it's like I'm hitting the ball hard, the next day I'm kind of not, one day I am, one day I'm not, so I'm just taking it day by day right now."
Martinez is batting .318 overall, but he's just 10 for his last 45 for a .222 average his last dozen games.
He'll try for more success tonight when Eduardo Rodriguez and Blaine Hardy square off at 7:10 p.m.
Rodriguez is 6-1 with a 3.88 ERA. He's won his last three starts with a flat 2 ERA during that stretch. The lefty's faced the Tigers three times, with a 4-15 lifetime mark.
Hardy's 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA. The southpaw has only pitched an inning-and-two-thirds of his career against Boston.
Sox have won three straight and lead the Yankees by a game for the best record in the majors. They're 10-1 this year when Rodriguez starts.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman reports