J.D. Martinez didn’t want to discuss much about his recent slump before Thursday’s game out of fear it would put negative thoughts in his head.
But the veteran Mets DH was willing to say he’s got a good idea of what needs to be fixed.
“My mechanics are not very good right now, they haven’t been, that is why I have been getting out,” Martinez said before going hitless in four at-bats in the 10-6 victory over the Phillies. “I have got to let my back shoulder stay up as my elbow drops. It’s just a habit I have gotten into. I have got to figure out a way to fix it.”
Martinez extended his nosedive — which he referred to as “dog sh—” performances lately — to 0-for-28.
With a little luck he would have hit multiple homers last weekend in Philadelphia, but two balls he scalded remained in the ballpark, including one on which Cal Stevenson reached over the fence to rob him.
Entering play he owned an .083/.175/.111 slash line in September with four RBIs.
Martinez’s Statcast numbers suggest he’s been somewhat unlucky at the plate — based on the 15.4 percent of barreled balls he’s hit this season, which ranks in MLB’s 96th percentile.
“You look at my expected numbers this year and they are a lot higher than my actual numbers,” Martinez said. “That is kind of what I have to go off of, really.”
Martinez, 36, said the back ailments that bothered him for much of last season (and again in spring training) haven’t been an issue for him this season.
“He’s just inconsistent right now — chasing or maybe in-between at times,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “But there were some good signs in the series in Philadelphia. He hit the ball hard and got some good at-bats.”
Martinez was back in the lineup Thursday after a day off.
“He’s always going to be watching films and tinkering with his mechanics,” Mendoza said. “We are going to need him.”
Mendoza confirmed that Tylor Megill will start Sunday’s series finale against Zack Wheeler.
Jose Iglesias went 2-for-5 and extended his hitting streak to 13 games. He is 20-for-49 (.408) during that stretch.