Despite breaking up no-hit bid, J.D. Martinez wishes first Mets home run came at more crucial time
It took J.D. Martinez 14 games, but on Saturday afternoon against the Atlanta Braves, in his 45th at-bat of the season, the veteran slugger went yard for the first time in a Mets uniform.
With New York down to its final out and on the verge of being no-hit by Max Fried and Atlanta’s bullpen at Citi Field, Martinez stepped up to the plate and swung at a first-pitch fastball by Raisel Iglesias, sending it to the opposite field and over the right-center field wall for a solo shot that broke up the no-hitter as well as the shutout.
Aside from saving the Mets from the embarrassment of getting no-hit, Martinez’s home run was much needed as the 36-year-old continues to try and find his footing with his new club after getting a late start to the year due to a late offseason signing and injury setback.
However, New York still lost, 4-1, as the Braves have taken the first two of the three-game series. In fact, after the game, Martinez didn’t seem pleased despite getting the first-homer-with-the-new-team monkey off his back.
“No, we’re still losing. 4-1,” he said after the game when asked if he was happy when he hit the home run. “Sucks. I wish I would’ve hit that last night when it would’ve tied the game up but here we are. We lost two to the Braves and we got another one tomorrow.”
Martinez was referring to Friday night’s ninth inning where, once again facing Iglesias with the Mets down, he rocketed another first-pitch fastball toward the left field foul pole that ultimately landed foul. Had the ball stayed fair it would’ve been a game-tying two-run homer. Instead, Martinez flew out to center field and New York lost, 4-2.
Regardless, not only did Martinez go deep for the first time this season, he hit the ball hard multiple times against Fried who was dealing throughout his seven shutout innings, allowing just three walks and striking out five on 109 pitches.
The DH lined out to third base on a ball that came off the bat at 105.6 mph in the second inning and hit another one in the seventh inning with an exit velocity of 105.4 mph that went 408 feet to the deepest part of the ballpark in dead center that Michael Harris II made a nice, running catch on.
“I hit it well. I knew I hit it low, I was just hoping it got over his head,” Martinez said about the latter out.
He continued: “I feel like I’m putting together good at-bats and hitting the ball hard and that’s all I can ask for.”
Manager Carlos Mendoza agrees with that statement while also sharing the sentiment of his designated hitter (and likely the rest of the team) that it’s all for naught if they don’t win the game.
“We lost the game. At the end of the day we lost the game,” Mendoza said. “[It’s a] good sign from J.D. There’s a lot of positives coming out of him – his at-bats the last couple of days and then today, smoked two balls off of Fried and then that last at-bat, go the other way like that with authority. We’re gonna need him, we’re gonna need all of them. It’s a good sign that J.D. is feeling the way that he’s feeling right now, but obviously, we didn’t get it done today.”
On the precipice of getting no-hit on the afternoon, Martinez was asked if that entered his mind at all as he stood in the batter’s box as the potential last out of the game.
“Not thinking about that. Thinking about my approach and my plan, not caught up in any of that stuff,” he said. “Obviously we didn’t want to get no-hit, but in that situation, that moment I’m just thinking about my plan and my game and what I’m trying to do in that at-bat off Iglesias really. Can’t get caught up in all that, then you start putting all this excess pressure on yourself for what? You get no-hit? Who cares? Tomorrow’s another day.”
Okay, fair.
But how about during the game? Does the team talk about it at all amongst themselves?
“No. We don’t talk about that. We let you guys talk about it. We’re just focusing on the game,” Martinez said.
