J.D.

Martinez

Even with right-hander Walker Buehler on the mound, the Mets will go with Martinez as the designated hitter with Mets manager Carlos Mendoza noting that Buehler has ‘neutral’ split stats. That’s a nice way of saying Buehler has been bad and may not be in the game long. The full lineup for the Mets: SS Francisco Lindor, 3B Mark Vientos, LF Brandon Nimmo, 1B Pete Alonso, RF Starling Marte, DH Martinez, 2B Jose Iglesias, CF Tyrone Taylor and C Francisco Alvarez.

With southpaw Ranger Suarez on the mound, Martinez will get the nod over Jesse Winker as the designated hitter. The full lineup as the Mets look to clinch a trip to the NLDS behind Jose Quintana: SS Francisco Lindor, 3B Mark Vientos, LF Brandon Nimmo, 1B Pete Alonso, 2B Jose Iglesias, DH Martinez, RF Starling Marte, CF Tyrone Taylor and C Francisco Alvarez.

Winker was out against southpaw Cristopher Sanchez on Sunday, but he’ll return to the lineup against righty Austin Nola for the pivotal Game 3 contest with J.D. Martinez not in the starting group. Tyrone Taylor also was out of the lineup for Game 2, but he’s back in center with Harrison Bader retreating to the bench. The full lineup: SS Francisco Lindor, 3B Mark Vientos, LF Brandon Nimmo, 1B Pete Alonso, 2B Jose Iglesias, DH Winker, RF Starling Marte, CF Taylor and Francisco Alvarez catching with Sean Manaea on the mound.

Martinez gets the nod over Jesse Winker with the team facing southpaw Cristopher Sanchez. Harrison Bader also gets a start in favor of Tyrone Taylor. The full lineup for the Mets as they look to take a 2-0 lead: SS Francisco Lindor, 3B Mark Vientos, LF Brandon Nimmo, 2B Jose Iglesias, DH Martinez, RF Starling Marte, C Francisco Alvarez and RF Bader.

Martinez should be back in the lineup for Game 2, as the Phillies will throw a lefty then. However, the Mets prefer Winker versus righties at the moment. Today’s lineup is the same one they used in Game 3 against the Brewers: SS Francisco Lindor, 3B Mark Vientos, LF Brandon Nimmo, 1B Pete Alonso, 2B Jose Iglesias, DH Winker, RF Starling Marte, CF Tyrone Taylor, C Francisco Alvarez.

After taking a seat on Wednesday with J.D. Martinez starting at DH, it will be Winker back in the lineup and hitting sixth on Thursday against Tobias Myers and the Brewers. The rest of the lineup remains the same but Jose Iglesias will move to fifth in the order with Mark Vientos hitting second and Brandon Nimmo hitting third.

Martinez began Tuesday’s game on the bench, but the 37-year-old will start after delivering a two-run single off the bench. With Martinez in, Jesse Winker will begin Wednesday’s game on the bench. The full lineup against Frankie Montas and the Brewers: Francisco Lindor SS, Jose Iglesias 2B, Mark Vientos 3B, Brandon Nimmo LF, Pete Alonso 1B, Martinez DH, Starling Marte RF, Tyrone Taylor CF and Francisco Alvarez behind the plate.

Martinez started the game on the bench, but pinch hit for Jesse Winker in the fifth inning. His pinch-hit two-run single gave the Mets an 8-4 lead. Martinez has been a great hitter over the course of his career, but had his worst season yet with a .235/.320/.406 line and 16 home runs in the regular season. He heads into free agency once again this offseason.

Martinez is currently in a 3-for-25 slump. Also likely factoring in here is that he’s 3-for-19 with no extra-base hits and 10 strikeouts lifetime versus Nola. Plus, the Mets’ defense is quite obviously improved with Jesse Winker and DH and Tyrone Taylor starting in the outfield. Martinez should be back in the lineup against Kolby Allard on Saturday.

The Mets were held scoreless into the sixth before they brought all four of their runs across to score in the inning. J.D. Martinez came up in a big spot, bringing two runs in to score on a double to left field. The 37-year-old slugger is hitting .252/.334/.440 with 16 homers and 68 RBI across 444 plate appearances.