Chris Sale has never hit a home run as a member of the Red Sox. But he absolutely knew what J.D. Martinez felt like when the designated hitter notched his first in his new home, Fenway Park.
"It's got to be satisfying. It's just as fun as any of the other ones, but I'm sure for him there's a certain weight lifted off getting the first one out of the way," Sale told WEEI.com after the Red Sox' 10-3 win over the Rays Saturday afternoon. "When you get traded over here and you're kind of expected to do something and finally get it done, you're like, 'OK, finally. Now I can just start playing. I'm not searching for anything. I'm not trying to grasp at anything. That's done. Now we roll.' I think you're going to see him take off now.
"It's hard not to [think about the pressure>. Not only the expectation of playing here but the expectation you put on yourself."
Martinez had his moment Saturday, finding the home run stroke that the Red Sox and their fans had been banking on heading into 2018. Sure, he hadn't gone completely silent in his first 27 plate appearances, coming away with six hits and a couple of walks. But until that first home run trot was dusted off, the weight of the expectations wasn't going anywhere.
After the game, Martinez did downplay the moment a bit, only admitting, "It was nice. It was cool. It was definitely a relief to finally get the first one out of the way. Just to do it here at home was fun." But, as anyone who has been dropped in Boston with some sort of expectations can tell you, garnering that first moment can't be downplayed.
Last season, Eduardo Nunez finally found his peace of mind after hitting two home runs in his second game as a Red Sox at Fenway Park.
"To play here is a big challenge. It's not easy to play here. They are going to push you. They are going to challenge you. And when you do something good to win games, you're relieved from that pressure," Nunez explained. "It was like, 'Thank God!' I believe [Martinez> felt the same thing. I knew how he was feeling."
Sale? He managed to get his sigh of relief in Game 1 of his Red Sox career, pitching seven shutout innings in the season-opener.
"It was probably a weight lifted off his back," the pitcher said of Martinez. "For me, it was like, 'Alright, now we're back to square one and we can start playing the game now.' It's awesome. Hopefully, we can see like 50 more of those."
The first, but not the last from @JDMartinez14. -- pic.twitter.com/pKNzq72Ki6
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 7, 2018
