Starling Marte might not be the most loquacious member of the Mets, so when he talks, it means something. The veteran outfielder pulled aside Francisco Alvarez on Wednesday night after the second-year catcher had arguably his worst game of the postseason, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and making a costly error that led to the Los Angeles Dodgers scoring two runs in the second inning. Marte might be one of the more misunderstood players on the Mets, possibly because of his quiet nature. But ask anyone who knows him and they’ll tell you he cares immensely about the people around him. Alvarez felt that he cared after their pep talk, and found comfort in it as well. “I was, like, ‘Wow, he really loves me and he wants to talk to me,'” Alvarez said Thursday at Citi Field. “And I feel like he talked to me from his heart.” Alvarez is back in the lineup Thursday for Game 4 of the NLCS. Manager Carlos Mendoza emphatically backed his scuffling catcher when asked if he might consider using Luis Torrens for a game, and continues to back him, saying he’s close to finally breaking out of this slump. “This is a guy that can change the outcome of a game with one swing with a couple of guys on because of the power,” Mendoza said. “He just has to relax here a little bit, but we know the potential there offensively. The other thing with Alvie, he’s 22 years old. He’s got a lot on his plate, especially when it comes down to preparing and game planning for a game. Nowadays there’s so much information, and he has to lead a pitching staff. Then on top of that, he’s got to be a hitter as well… “But he’s one swing away.” It’s a bold move by the Mets’ manager, but it’s a risk. It’s even more of a risk to continue using Jose Iglesias and J.D. Martinez, two other struggling hitters, when Jeff McNeil and Jesse Winker are available. Mendoza has shown unfailing loyalty to his clubhouse as a rookie manager, and in return, his players have played exceptionally hard for him. But Alvarez has been marred in a slump at the plate all summer. His numbers took a nose dive in the second half of the season when he hit just .187 with a .594 OPS, but he did finish strong in his final 55 plate appearances, hitting five home runs and posting a .971 OPS. Hitting coach Jeremy Barnes recently broke down the mechanical issue to the Daily News. If Alvarez opens his hips before he transfers his weight to his front foot, it affects his timing at the plate. Right now, he’s late, which is why he’s been laying off so many fastballs. It’s an issue he’s dealt with throughout his entire career, and one the Mets know they have to manage. “[As] a hitter, when we have problems, it’s the same problem,” Alvarez said. “My hips are very fast. I open my hips always very fast, so I have to stay closed. Now I’m not on time for the fastball and when I feel it approaching, I use my hips too fast. So I just have to slow down my hips and slow down my body and I can do better.” Alvarez said he would have understood if Mendoza had benched him in favor of Torrens in Game 4. But the public backing of the manager has served to boost his confidence. At times, Alvarez tries to do too much, especially in important games. The message from Marte was to slow down and play to the best of his abilities instead of trying to be a hero. “He [came] to me and he told me, ‘Hey, be happy. Play your game. Don’t try to do too much,'” Alvarez said. “But the real thing with Marte is he don’t talk too much, so I feel like he talked to me from the heart. I appreciate him doing that.” The manager knows he’ll have to face the consequences if Alvarez continues to come up empty at the plate. But if all it takes is a little boost of confidence for a 22-year-old getting meaningful at-bats in the postseason for the first time, then the Mets are happy to help him find it. “Today is another day,” Alvarez said. “I can have a different result and can flip everything today.”