MILWAUKEE — Towards an opposing right-hander in Colin Rea, probably the most logical resolution would have been to insert lefty-hitting Jesse Winker at designated hitter.
Carlos Mendoza, although, opted for résumé over baseball rationality.
Hours earlier than the sport, the Mets supervisor included a prediction in justifying J.D. Martinez’s presence within the order.
“We signed this guy in the offseason for games like this,” Mendoza mentioned of the righty slugger. “He’s done it before. He’s been in a lot of meaningful games, and it’s about time for him to have a huge game.”
“Huge” may be a stretch, however an enormous sport no less than adopted.
The Mets signed the designated hitter for afternoons like Sunday’s, when he went 2-for-5 with a double and scored a run in a 5-0 win over the Brewers at American Household Area that ensured the Mets would solely want one victory in Atlanta on Monday to play October baseball.
The Mets snapped a three-game skid and Martinez snapped a depressing 0-for-36 stretch to lastly awaken, the group hopes, earlier than it was too late.
The 37-year-old had not recorded successful in almost three weeks, his OPS plunging from .771 on Sept. 9 to .721 coming into play.
At instances, he appeared misplaced on the plate; at instances, he was the sufferer of some dangerous luck.
That luck turned within the collection finale.
After flying out to the warning monitor within the first inning, Martinez escaped his career-worst drought within the fourth.
Martinez despatched a superbly positioned floor ball down the third-base line that trampolined off the bottom itself and over the pinnacle of third baseman Joey Ortiz, a hustling Martinez sliding safely into second base.
As he appeared towards the dugout for the air-slap of a celebration, nearly all of his teammates had erupted.
“You could feel the dugout and how the guys were top step, right there, right behind him,” Mendoza mentioned of the revered, 14-year main leaguer. “He’s a good hitter. He’s an elite hitter. This is the time for him to step up, and he did it today.”
Martinez, who entered play with simply three hits in 54 September plate appearances, added a hard-hit single into left within the ninth inning for one more good signal from a hitter who advised Mendoza this week that he believed he had made a breakthrough together with his swing.
Martinez good-naturedly declined to talk about his stoop and its potential finish after his first multi-hit sport since Aug. 30.
When his bat has failed him, his phrases normally have helped within the clubhouse.
“We can’t put pressure on ourselves,” Martinez mentioned forward of a doubleheader in Atlanta, the place the membership’s postseason destiny will probably be determined. “I’ve been saying this since we sucked and everybody kind of wrote us off. It’s like, ‘Dude, we don’t have any pressure. We weren’t supposed to be here. We just can’t get here now and all of a sudden put pressure on ourselves.’ ”
“It feels like the third or fourth time I’ve said this. This team just plays better that way.”
