News

Actions

Diamondbacks' JD Martinez ties Major League Baseball record for home runs in September

Diamondbacks' JD Martinez ties Major League Baseball record for home runs in September
Posted at 4:31 PM, Sep 27, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-27 19:31:13-04

In just two months, J.D. Martinez has gone from a man with no clothes to arguably the most feared hitter in Major League Baseball.

Martinez, whom the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired from the Detroit Tigers in July, has hit 29 home runs in just 59 games with his new team. Three weeks ago, he became the 18th player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game. And on Wednesday, he became the first National League hitter since 1949 to hit 16 home runs in the month of September.

Martinez's 16th homer of the month and 45th of the season came in the ninth inning of the D-backs' final home game of the season, helping the D-backs rally from a 3-1 deficit an earn a 4-3 victory over the visiting San Francisco Giants. The homer matched the September record set by former Pittsburgh Pirates slugger and seven-time National League home run leader Ralph Kiner 68 years ago.

Martinez helped the Diamondbacks win their 92nd game of the season, matching their win total from their 2001 season in which they went on to win the World Series. The D-backs' next home game will be their Wild Card matchup against the Rockies, Brewers or Cardinals on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at 5 p.m.

The D-backs will end the regular season with three games at the Kansas City Royals. That series begins Friday.