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SAN FRANCISCO — Starling Marte was contributing offensively for the Mets before he hit the injured list in early July, and since his return, he has regained that momentum.
The veteran DH now has six hits in his 10 at-bats since his activation from the IL last week after going 2-for-3 with a walk in the Mets’ 5-3 win over the Giants on Sunday.
Marte missed two weeks after receiving a gel injection for discomfort in his right knee.
“He’s been huge,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before the victory. “He continues to give us solid at-bats against lefties, righties. He goes down and missed a few days, and then he comes back and seems like he didn’t miss a beat.”
Marte entered play with a .262/.364/.412 slash line with four homers and 20 RBIs. In the starting lineup again Sunday, Marte reached base three times for the second straight day.
Mendoza’s other option would have been to start Mark Vientos as the DH.
“I am going to try to keep [Marte] in the lineup, but at the same time, I am going to continue to monitor him,” Mendoza said. “I’m going to continue to give him days off and get his feedback. He’s usually pretty honest with us, so we’ll go game by game and series by series.”
Paul Blackburn was sharp in a potential final rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse.
The right-hander allowed one earned run on five hits with six strikeouts and one walk over 6 ¹/₃ innings. Blackburn, who is rehabbing a shoulder impingement, could next rejoin the team as a long reliever/sixth starter, but Mendoza indicated a decision won’t be reached until at least Monday.
Edwin Díaz extended his scoreless streak to 17 innings since June 6 by pitching a scoreless ninth Sunday.
He loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter but pitched out of trouble to earn his 23rd save in 25 chances this season.
The All-Star closer has allowed only one earned run over his past 32 appearances, owning a 4-0 record with 17 saves since April 23.
Jose Siri, who has been sidelined since April with a fractured left tibia, still isn’t close to resuming baseball activities, but it’s still expected he will play again this season, according to Mendoza.
Siri’s workouts have consisted of running in a pool to strengthen the leg.
