Tigers right fielder J.D. Martinez had quite an afternoon at Yankee Stadium on Sunday. Martinez went 3 for 5 with three home runs and six RBI in the 12-4 victory over the Yankees. Just one would have been enough for his dad Julio on Father's Day.
"He said, 'Why don't you hit home run No. 14 for me,'" Martinez said, per MLive.com.
Martinez had a two-run shot in the first inning, and a solo shot in the fifth, both off Masahiro Tanaka. He then added a three-run bomb in the sixth inning, as he became the first Tigers player to have three home runs in a game against the Yankees since 1959.
"It was just one of those days where you take swings and you're actually hitting the ball how you want to hit it," Martinez said, per MLB.com. "There's not too many of those days, so you've just got to take advantage of them."
Martinez now has 16 home runs and 41 RBI on the season. This was the first multi-homer game of his career. He has hit seven longballs in 17 games this month.