ST. PETERSBURG. Fla. — Boston slugger J.D. Martinez is on the Red Sox roster for their AL Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays after missing Tuesday night’s win over the New York Yankees in the AL Wild Card Game because of a sprained left ankle.
The best-of-five ALDS is scheduled to start Thursday night in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Martinez stumbled over second base in Sunday’s regular-season finale at Washington.
Because the National League does not use a DH in games played in its stadiums, Martinez was playing right field against the Nationals. He stepped on the bag and twisted the ankle heading out to play defense in the fifth inning.
It was only the seventh game in 2021 that Martinez started in right field. He was in the starting lineup as a DH for 113 games and as the left fielder for 28.
Martinez hit .286, with an AL-leading 42 doubles, 28 homers and 99 RBIs during the regular season.