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Starling Marte comes at the right time for the Mets in the NLCS

Starling Marte comes at the right time for the Mets in the NLCS

LOS ANGELES — After the Mets got through Game 5, only two batters in baseball had recorded more postseason hits than Starling Marte.

The contact magician who can spray the ball anywhere seems to be at the back.

Marte, an All-Star in his first year with the Mets before injuries began in 2023 and rarely faltering, missed about two months of this season with a deep bone bruise in his knee and played sparingly after returning in mid-August.

For health reasons or optimal lineup considerations, coach Carlos Mendoza Marte started 26 of the final 39 games of the regular season, with the veteran outfielder more of a bit player than a cornerstone.

Starling Marte had a big Game 5 for the Mets on Friday night. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST

But when the games mattered most, it was impossible for Marte to leave the lineup.

The Mets played 12 games in October and Marte started them all.

The fact that Marte’s knee and groin injuries required surgery after the 2022 season; and head, with migraines derailing his 2023 season – it was crucial that he was able to remain in the lineup.

The fact that Marte’s bat responded made Mendoza’s lineup decision easier.

Starling Marte was a key cog in the Mets’ playoff attack. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST

“When you’re playing with an injury, it’s a difficult situation,” Marte said through interpreter Alan Suriel after going 4-for-5 with three doubles and three RBIs in Friday’s Game 5 win over the Dodgers. “So once you’re able to rehab the injury, you’re in the training room, you get everything you need to train properly and you come back with a different level of confidence.

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“I think that’s what I’ve been able to do, just stick to the right routine.”

The power Marte once possessed may be exhausted at age 36 — he hit 16 home runs in 118 games in his first season in Queens and seven in 94 games this year, still without any postseason dings — but in a lineup With power bats such as Pete Alonso, Marte offers a different dimension.

Starling Marte was a contact machine for the Mets. Robert Sabo for NY Post

He hit a double down the first base line in the first inning Friday.

In the third, he hit a two-run double down the third base line.

He waited for a break point from Brent Honeywell and shot a double to left-center in the sixth.

In the eighth, he hit an RBI single to center.

Only his Cleveland teammate Mark Vientos (17) and Steven Kwan (15) had more postseason hits than Marte’s 13 on Saturday.

Starling Marte reacts after a hit in the sixth inning in NLCS Game 5. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST

His late-season rise, after a slump in 2023 and an up-and-down season in 2024, gives the Mets hope for the rest of this year – and next, when Marte will return for the final season of his four-year season, 78 US -dollar million pact.

What once looked like an albatross is looking more reasonable with each postseason game. Marte is healthy, hitting and having a lot of fun. He’s wearing a necklace that a young fan gave him on Friday.

“I’m the type of player, as long as the team wins, I’m good,” said Marte.