LOS ANGELES — Only two batters in baseball have more postseason hits than Starling Marte after the Mets won Game 5.
The contact magician who can hit the ball anywhere certainly looks like he's coming back all the way.
Marte, an All-Star in his first year with the Mets, started suffering injuries in 2023 and rarely recovered from them, missing about two months this season with a deep knee bruise before returning in mid-August. After that, he was only able to play a few plays.
For health and optimal lineup reasons, manager Carlos Mendoza started Marte in 26 of the final 39 games of the regular season, but the veteran outfielder was more of a bit player than a cornerstone.
But it was impossible for Marte to be sidelined when the game mattered most.
The Mets played 12 games in October, and Marte started all of them.
The fact that Marte's knee and groin required surgery after the 2022 season. And with Head inactive for the 2023 season due to migraines, allowing him to remain in the lineup was key.
The fact that Marte's bat responded made Mendoza's batting decision simple.
“When you're playing with an injury, it's a difficult situation,” Marte, who went 5-for-4 with three doubles and three RBIs in Game 5 against the Dodgers on Friday, said through translator Alain Suriel. . “So once I'm able to rehab that injury, I'm going to go into the training room and get everything I need to get it right and come back with a different kind of confidence.
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“I think what I’ve been able to do is stick to a good routine.”
The power Marte once possessed may dry up at age 36 — he hit 16 home runs in 118 games in his first season with Queens, and seven in 94 games this year, but still He never made the postseason — but in a lineup with such a power bat, like Pete Alonso, Marte provides another dimension.
He hit a double over the first base line in the first inning Friday.
In the third inning, he hit a two-run double over the third base line.
In the 6th inning, he waited for Brent Honeywell's breaking ball and hit a double to left-center field.
In the 8th inning, he hit an RBI single to center field.
Entering Saturday, only teammates Mark Vientos (17) and Cleveland's Steven Kwan (15) had more postseason hits than Marte's 13.
After a slow 2023 and a rocky 2024, his late-season emergence gave the Mets hope for the rest of this year and next year when Marte returns for his fourth and final season. Million agreement.
What once looked like an albatross is looking more reasonable with each postseason game. Marte is healthy, hitting, having fun and wearing the necklace he received from a young fan on Friday.
“I'm the type of player who is happy if the team wins,'' Marte said.
