As much as the Yankees were looking forward to returning home after an 11-game road trip, it would have been understandable if Russell Martin wanted to keep traveling.
With just seven hits in 64 at-bats at Yankee Stadium, the catcher was practically an automatic out in The Bronx.
Last night, Martin finally broke out in a 7-0 win over the Rays with his second three-hit game of the season.
Not only did he guide Andy Pettitte through 7 1/3 scoreless innings, he also followed a second-inning single with an opposite-field grand slam off Rays starter James Shields in the fourth.
“When you’re down 0-2 against Shields, you’re not thinking homer,” Martin said. “That’s the last thing on your mind. He got a pitch over the plate and I was trying to protect and got the barrel on it. The next thing you know, it’s in the bleachers.”
Martin said he thought he had taken some “decent” swings at Shields’ changeup prior to the home run and that Shields was trying to waste a pitch high, but didn’t elevate it enough.
Martin’s most recent grand slam before last night had been last Aug. 25, when the Yankees hit three of them in a 22-9 romp over the A’s at the Stadium.
This one may have meant even more, since it was coupled with a superb pitching performance.
“Any time you get a shutout, you feel like you’ve done what you’re supposed to do as a catcher,” Martin said. “I like both, but the grand slam makes it even better.”
He finished the game hitting .211 after bottoming out at .167 on May 17.
“I started feeling better the last day in Detroit,” Martin said of the final game of the road trip. “I backed off the plate a little bit.”
It worked last night, but Martin remains more concerned with his work on defense.
“It might not be as fun when you’re not hitting the ball,” Martin said. “But I take pride in my catching and doing the little things. It keeps me sane.”
His problems at home are in contrast to what he did in his first season as a Yankee, when he managed a .260 average at home and just .217 on the road.
This season, he’s hitting .261 away from The Bronx, but more importantly, he’s been stuck under .200 overall for nearly the entire season.
Martin showed signs of improvement on the Yankees’ recent trip, going 6-for-19.
“He was good on the road trip and has continued to swing it,” Joe Girardi said.