Starling Marte provides rare Mets bright spot while battling through injury

Starling Marte, in what was a large surprise, pronounced himself healthy enough to hit and play the field for the Mets. 

After an impressive playoff performance with a fractured middle finger, Marte might be asked next if he can pitch, too. 

Marte, who missed 4 ½ weeks after a fastball drilled his finger, returned Friday night with two singles, two stolen bases and a nice running grab in the Mets’ 7-1 loss to the Padres in Game 1 of their NL wild-card series at Citi Field. 

The Mets gave Marte, who had been considered a long shot just to make the postseason roster, the green light and played him in right field. 

“In a situation like this you kind of have to suck up the pain, because it’s a significant situation,” Marte said through interpreter Alan Suriel after pregame drills. “You kind of have to fight through it. … [Team officials] asked me how I felt, and they trusted me to give them an honest answer. At this point in the season every player is playing with pain, so when you go out there on the field you forget about that pain.” 

Marte finished 2-for-4, with a ground single up the middle in the second inning and an infield hit in the ninth. After his first single, he swiped second and third base — becoming the first Met since Curtis Granderson in Game 2 of the 2015 NLCS with multiple steals in a postseason game — but he was stranded. 

“I feel like I was able to manage the pain,” said Marte, who wore a compression band on the finger and was confident he could continue managing it as long as the Mets keep playing. 

Marte did not have to make any significant throws from right field, but partly because his speed and ability erased a potential extra-base hit. In the seventh inning, Trent Grisham smacked a drive to deep right, and Marte darted back at an angle, lifted his glove and caught it just before hitting the wall. 

Marte said his finger was last X-rayed about a week ago. According to manager Buck Showalter, Marte was struggling with baseball activities as recently as Tuesday. 

“It still showed a lot of inflammation, which kind of delayed me getting back to baseball activities,” Marte said. “So I went to the training room and started working a lot and we reached our goal to be able to get back on the field. 

“It’s a situation where your finger is inflamed so it bothers you, but I feel I can hit and throw fine.” 

After he spent most of the season batting second, Marte was moved to sixth for his return. Showalter said the switch was to protect against Marte leaving the game and potentially leaving the team vulnerable in the No. 2 hole. 

Saturday, against southpaw Blake Snell, those concerns likely will be lessened. 

“You feel it, it’s uncomfortable, but at the end of the day, the goal’s to go out there and play whether it hurts or not,” Marte said. 

— Additional reporting by Mike Puma