Martin to catch a little breather

NEW YORK -- Fatigue may be starting to wear down All-Star catcher Russell Martin, who has caught more games than any player in baseball this season. Martin has started all but 12 of the Dodgers’ 129 games, including 22 of 23 in the sultry weather of August.

So after batting .306 with 11 homers and 60 runs batted in during the first half, Martin, who was one for two with a walk Saturday in the Dodgers’ 4-3 loss to the New York Mets, is hitting .261 in the second half. And even with Saturday’s solo homer, he has only 14 RBIs since the All-Star break.

What’s more, after throwing out 28% of runners trying to steal in the first half, Martin has thrown out less than half as many in the second half, with the Mets swiping two bases against him Saturday.

“I feel great,” said Martin, who, despite the drop in his average, has the exact on-base percentage (.374) in the second half as he did in the first. “I feel good at the plate. The concentration’s there. I’m getting on base. I’m having good at-bats pretty much every time.”

Martin will get a break tonight, though. With the Dodgers playing at 8 in New York before flying home to open a three-game series with the Washington Nationals on Monday, Manager Grady Little plans to pair veteran catcher Mike Lieberthal with David Wells for the left-hander’s first start with the Dodgers.

“I could use the day. But it’s not like I need the rest,” said Martin who, despite appearances to the contrary, insists he hasn’t lost weight under the heavy workload.

“We’ve got a quick turnaround to play on Monday night in L.A.,” Little said. “We think it’s a good opportunity to give Russell a break.”

Unless the Dodgers are able to find a trade partner willing to split the cost, the team will have to pay more than $1.8 million to sever its ties with right-hander Brett Tomko, who was designated for assignment Friday to clear roster space for Wells.

Tomko is owed the remainder of his $4.1-million salary for this season, which comes to about $820,000. And the Dodgers must also pay the pitcher $1 million to buy out the second year of his two-year contract.

The Dodgers have eight more days to trade or release Tomko before he can walk away as a free agent.

After making a few adjustments with his stance, Luis Gonzalez put on an impressive show in batting practice Saturday, hitting several balls out of the park, including a line drive that bounced off the facing of the second deck, about 400 feet from the plate. And he continued that impressive display in the game, hitting a low breaking pitch from starter Orlando Hernandez over the right-center-field wall in the seventh inning for his first homer in more than a month.

“I’m just trying to move my feet around a little bit. Just do little things,” said Gonzalez, who is batting only .234 with 14 RBIs in the second half. “At this point of the game, it’s just making little adjustments here and there.”

The adjustments weren’t foolproof, however, since Gonzalez grounded into a double play in his next at-bat to end the game.

Juan Pierre’s first-inning single extended his hitting streak to 13 games, during which he’s batting .386. But Pierre was caught trying to steal a couple of pitches later, the second consecutive time he has been nabbed on the basepaths after stealing 18 consecutive bases. . . . Reliever Rudy Seanez pocketed another $100,000 bonus Saturday for appearing in a career-high 60th game. . . . The Mets are 9-0 in Hernandez’s last nine starts.

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kevin.baxter@latimes.com