Martinez mashes trifecta, drives in 9 runs

Hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in sports. It appears that Orelvis Martinez didn't get that memo this week.

The seventh-ranked Blue Jays prospect went 4-for-6 with a trio of home runs, a career-best nine RBIs and four runs scored to pace Low-A Dunedin's 17-6 drubbing of the Clearwater Threshers at BayCare Ballpark on Saturday night.

Through the first five games of a six-game set against the Threshers, Martinez is 13-for-24 with seven dingers, a pair of doubles, 16 RBIs and nine runs scored.

The 19-year-old gave the Blue Jays the lead with a go-ahead RBI base knock to left in the third inning. It was the first run of a four-run frame for Dunedin, and put the club ahead for good.

Two innings later, Martinez stepped to the dish with two on and no outs, and crushed an 0-1 offering to left for a three-run blast. It was almost an identical outcome in the sixth, when the Dominican native blasted another three-run tater to left to break the game open. Then, with one out in the eighth, Martinez turned on a 2-1 fastball and crushed a two-run roundtripper to left again.

The nine RBIs nearly doubled his previous high of five, which he did on June 29, 2019, with the Bluefield Blue Jays. His four runs scored also set a new career high for the shortstop.

Martinez is sporting a .383/.482/.872 slash line with nine homers, five doubles, 21 RBIs and 12 runs scored over 14 games in July.