His numbers when he crossed 100 plate appearances were even uglier, batting .198 with a .514 OPS.
Those numbers were not from Tuesday. They were from 2013, when Victor Martinez was working his way back from knee surgery, and when some were suggesting he was done. He didn’t hit his first home run until his 28th game and his 125th plate appearance. He kept on playing, and he kept on batting fifth behind Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. He ended up batting .319 with 14 home runs, 73 RBIs and an .837 OPS the rest of the way.
It doesn’t mean he’s in for that kind of turnaround this year. It does mean he’ll get the benefit of the doubt to try.
So, too, will J.D. Martinez, who has his own slump to worry about. While Victor Martinez fell to 1-for-14 in May with his 0-for-4 night Tuesday, J.D. Martinez extended his skid to 0-for-18 with 12 strikeouts since his home run off Tim Stauffer last Wednesday in Minnesota.
“He’s just chasing pitches,” Brad Ausmus said of the latter. “I personally think he’s thinking a little bit too much, a combination of not picking up the ball and thinking too much. His swing is fine.”
The path out for both of them was made clear after Tuesday’s loss.
“Really, they’re going to have to hit their way out of it,” Ausmus said. “It’s not a bad thing we see a couple lefties in a row for Vic.”
Victor Martinez’s surgically repaired left knee is not an issue when he bats right-handed. He’s also 15-for-32 with three doubles and three home runs off Chris Sale, who starts Wednesday, and 10-for-21 off Thursday starter Jose Quintana. The Tigers need the favorable matchups they can find against both.
Beyond that, the Tigers need what they can get this season out of Victor Martinez, too. By now, the scouting report against him is clear: A pitch low and in to make him move his legs can set him up for an out. It has happened daily, and will probably keep happening.
At this point, there’s no indication to believe a stint on the 15-day disabled list will change the situation with his knee, let alone a couple days off. His knee pretty much is what it is for now, limited meniscus and all. Fifteen days won’t help that.
Play of the game: Conor Gillaspie’s two-run triple was a culmination of the struggles Shane Greene had all night commanding the strike zone. It was his 57th and final pitch of the game, and just his 26th strike. Gillaspie was the 12th White Sox batter on which Greene had fallen behind on his first pitch.
Out of the game: Jeff Samardzija’s three-pitch strikeout of Miguel Cabrera thwarted the Tigers’ best chance to get back into the game, stranding runners at the corners in the fifth inning.
Strategery: Ausmus said he wasn’t simply trying to give Angel Nesbitt work when he brought in the rookie reliever to pitch the eighth. First, he said, he was trying to keep the game close. Beyond that, he was trying to keep left-hander Blaine Hardy available for Wednesday’s game by using him for one inning instead of two.
Line of the game: Shane Greene’s 2 2/3 innings tied the shortest start of his Major League career. The four walks tied his career high from his last meeting with the White Sox on April 19 at Comerica Park.
Stat of the game: Greene gave up as many ground-ball hits as groundouts, four each.
“He looks pretty good right there,” Maddon said. “Why would i want to mess with him? I like him there. He should get better pitches. You put him sixth, seventh or eighth, he’s not going to see the same pitches he’ll see in the nine hole. A young guy like that, he’s finding his way. I’m sure there’s a comfort zone. He’s playing really, really well, and you know what? It’s going to keep getting better. I like it.”
At 21, Russell is the youngest active player in the National League.
— Carrie Muskat
“We were doing real well and we just have to do a better job of holding leads,” manager Joe Maddon said. “Effort — wonderful. Game playing — wonderful. At-bats — over the top. Baserunning — great. So many good things are going on. We’ve just got to get better at holding leads.”
The game marked the return of James Russell, who has rejoined the team. The lefty entered with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth and was able to get Matt Adams out on two pitches.
“It’s comfortable to be back,” Russell said. “It’s a good feeling. The culture has kind of changed for the better. It’s definitely nice.”
The Cubs even kept No. 40 available for him.
“Same number, same everything,” Russell said. “I think they kept it in storage or something.”
* Up next: Jon Lester faces the Cardinals in Game 3 of this four-game series at Busch Stadium.
Mesoraco acknowledged Tuesday that the outcome to repair his left hip impingement could very well be surgery. He is trying to avoid that, however.
Said Mesoraco:
We’ve done a number of injections. … It’s not like last year when I did my oblique and we know what we can do to rehab it. … It’s something that down the line, hopefully, is probably going to have to get fixed. At this point, it’s not an option because of how much of the season we have left. At some point, it’s probably going to come into the picture.”
“It’s a four-month-type thing , the surgery. We’re trying to do everything we can to stop that from happening. We did the PRP, the cortisone, the lubricating injections. We’re trying to do the best we can to be able to finish the season before it’s something that I do have to look at getting fixed.”
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To make room for Russell on the 40-man roster, right-handed pitcher Blake Parker was designated for assignment.
Both Russell and Varvaro will be available Tuesday.
Russell, 29, rejoins the Cubs after spending nearly all of his first five big league seasons with the Cubs (2010-14) before being traded to the Atlanta Braves last July 31. Overall, he is 10-16 with 50 holds, three saves and a 3.74 ERA (123 ER/296.1 IP) in 338 major league appearances, all but six as a starter.
With Iowa, Russell went 2-0 with three saves in seven scoreless relief outings covering 9.2 innings.
Varvaro, 30, was claimed off waivers from Boston on Sunday. He is 7-9 with 20 holds, one save and a 3.23 ERA (66 ER/183.2 IP) in 166 major league relief appearances with Seattle (2010), Atlanta (2011-14) and Boston (2015). Varvaro combined to go 6-4 with one save and a 2.74 ERA (39 ER/128.0 IP) in 123 appearances covering the last two seasons in Atlanta. In his career, Varvaro has limited left-handed hitters to a .201 batting average (58-for-289) while righthanders have batted .268 (107-for-400).
Denorfia, 34, lands on the disabled list for the second time this season, as he began the year recovering from a left hamstring strain. He was activated on April 17 and is hitting .429 (9-for-21) in 12 games with the Cubs this season.
Germen, 27, has posted no record and a 7.50 ERA (5 ER/6.0 IP) in six relief appearances for the Cubs this year. He has tossed four scoreless appearances for Iowa this season, going 2-0 with five strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched.
Parker, 29, had no record and a 2.70 ERA (1 ER/3.1 IP) in three outings with Iowa this season. He is 2-3 with one save and a 3.68 ERA (30 ER/73.1 IP) in 74 relief appearances covering three seasons with the Cubs (2012-14).
Moore, 25, was a big Orioles fan and when the Mets —who honored Moore by wearing NYPD caps in warmups and using police officers to make the national anthem’s color guard—reached out to tell Baltimore that he had an affinity for the team, the O’s acted quickly.
“When you listen to a lot of people talk about him, he was pretty special,” manager Buck Showalter said of Moore. It’s going to be quite a loss.”
The Orioles were also all out for the pregame moment of silence in Moore’s memory. His favorite player, Chris Davis, also signed a baseball for the team. The flags at Citi Field flew half mast on Tuesday.
*Steve Pearce is out of the lineup with a stomach bug that he’s been dealing with since Sunday’s game against the Rays, which he left early. In his place, red-hot Jimmy Paredes will play second base.
*J.J. Hardy and Ryan Flaherty are both in the starting lineup again for Double-A Bowie and will be playing again on Wednesday before the team decides what the next step is.
ORIOLES LINEUP
Manny Machado 3B
Jimmy Paredes 2B
Adam Jones CF
Chris Davis 1B
Delmon Young RF
Caleb Joseph C
Travis Snider LF
Everth Cabrera SS
Bud Norris RHP
METS LINEUP
Curtis Granderson RF
Juan Lagares CF
Lucas Duda 1B
Michael Cuddyer LF
Daniel Murphy 3B
Wilmer Flores SS
Kevin Plawecki C
Dilson Herrera 2B
Bartolo Colon RHP
Fowler CF
Rizzo 1B
Bryant 3B
Soler RF
Castro SS
Lake LF
Castillo C
Hendricks P
Russell 2B
* The Cardinals are off to their best 25-game start in the modern era. They lead MLB with a 2.44 team ERA and have a plus 41 run differential. It’s the best 25-game start by any team since the 2003 Yankees won 20 of their first 25 games. The Cardinals are outscoring opponents by a 42-23 margin during their seven-game winning streak. The bullpen is 5-0 with a 0.80 ERA (three earned runs/33 2/3 innings pitched)
* The Cubs bullpen, on the other hand, has given up 14 runs (13 earned) over 16 innings in last five games.
* St. Louis starter Tyler Lyons has faced the Cubs once before, and allowed a career-worst nine runs over four innings
on May 12, 2014. Chicago posted a 17-5 win, the most runs the Cards have allowed in a single game in the past
five seasons.
* Miguel Montero is hitting .478 (11-23 AB) with six RBI during a six-game hit streak.
* After 55 at-bats, Bryant is still looking for his first big league homer. He led the Minors last year with 43 home runs and averaged a home run every 11.8 at-bats in his minor league career.
* Addison Russell is hitting .320 (8-25 AB) with four XBH and six RBI during a seven-game hitting streak.
Records: Cardinals (19-6, +5.5 in NL Central), Cubs (13-11, -5.5 in NL Central)
First pitch: 7:15 pm CT
TV/Radio: Fox Sports Midwest, 1120 KMOX
Cardinals lineup: Jon Jay (CF), Matt Carpenter (3B), Matt Holliday (LF), Matt Adams (1B), Jhonny Peralta (SS), Jason Heyward (RF), Yadier Molina (C), Kolten Wong (2B), Tyler Lyons (LHP)
Cubs lineup: Dexter Fowler (CF), Anthony Rizzo (1B), Kris Bryan (3B), Jorge Soler (RF), Starlin Castro (SS), Junior Lake (LF), Welington Castillo (C), Kyle Hendricks (RHP), Addison Russell (2B)
Transactions: The Cardinals recall LHP Tyler Lyons from Triple-A Memphis and option RHP Sam Tuivailala.
Reading material:
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It’s a dreary day in Chicago, where the fog settled in this morning and hasn’t left. Chances are it’ll still be around this evening, judging from the forecast. Could also be light rain, but scattered, so figure they’ll get this game in.
Gameday | TV: FS Detroit, MLB.TV | Radio: 97.1 FM, AM 1270, Gameday Audio
TIGERS (career numbers off Samardzija)
P: Shane Greene
WHITE SOX (numbers off Greene)
P: Jeff Samardzija