Martinez keeping D-Backs in good spirits

J.D. Martinez didn’t deny the novelty of winning another player of the week award – he’s the first person in the 44year history of the award to win it four times in the same season – but he said his focus remains entirely elsewhere.

“They’re definitely humbling, awesome accolades to achieve, but right now our goal is the playoffs,” Martinez said. “That’s what I want. I want you to be interviewing me about how it feels to win a World Series.”

Martinez, who went 10 for 23 (.435) with three doubles and three homers during the week, is so focused on the big picture that he wasn’t going to risk letting a loss on Sunday in San Francisco put a damper on the good vibes in the Diamondbacks clubhouse.

As reporters were waiting to speak with players after the game, Martinez and teammate Robbie Ray tinkered with the stereo and cued up songs typical for a winning clubhouse. Martinez said he was taking a page from former Detroit Tigers’ teammate Torii Hunter’s book.

“I remember he was like, ‘Dude, who cares?’ ” Martinez recalled. “‘We lost today. It doesn’t matter. We’re in the run right now. This is not a time to hang to our heads because we lost a game. We won the series.’ ”

Martinez said he ran the music idea past veteran teammate Gregor Blanco to make sure he was on board with it.

“Everyone wants to put their head down because we lost a game,” Martinez said. “Forget that. We lost a game. So what? We’re going to lose a game. We’re not perfect. It’s going to happen. We have to continue the positive high. You have to continue with the positivity in the clubhouse and continue to keep going.”

Lamb hits sixth vs. Padres

After another hitless day in the No. 3 spot in the lineup, Jake Lamb was dropped to sixth on Monday, a move manager Torey Lovullo said was done to relieve pressure on his struggling third baseman.

“I know that he’s walking through a little bit of a tough time,” Lovullo said, “and I want to help out that situation the best I knew how.”

Lovullo said the Diamondbacks’ best lineup is with a dialed-in Lamb hitting in the middle of it, and he hopes to revert back to that in due time.

“When he is doing the types of things that we know he’s capable of doing, being more closer to the top is going to create more opportunities, more at-bats and get us pushed in the right direction,” Lovullo said.

Family matters

Torey Lovullo’s son, Nick, has been a regular visitor to the Diamondbacks clubhouse in recent weeks, a development the manager described as being “beyond cool” for a father.

But he acknowledged there have been some “awkward” moments given that Nick, 23, is a prospect in the Boston Red Sox organization.

“I have to be a little careful what I talk about,” Torey Lovullo said. “I don’t think he’s going to spill the beans on anything that’s going on around here, but I have to really be careful about some of the things that I openly talk about with other people.

“I wish the story was a little bit different, but he’s on his own path and on his own way and hopefully he gets to the big leagues.”

Short hops

Infielder Ildemaro Vargas said he’s expecting to undergo surgery to remove a broken hamate bone in his hand in the offseason, an injury he sustained in July while sliding into second base. Vargas missed time then but he said the hand isn’t bothering him now. Still, he’s worried about it becoming an issue in the future and wants to get it taken care of once the season is over.