NEW YORK -- Willson Contreras didn’t get to see Albert Pujols on Thursday night when the Cardinals' legendary slugger took time out from his MLB Network TV duties to drop by the team hotel in New York City. Instead, Contreras was busy talking with another former player, who he holds in the highest regard.

Victor Martinez, a fellow Venezuelan countryman, five-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger winner during his 16-year career with Cleveland, Boston and Detroit, reached out to the slumping Contreras. The two talked on the phone for more than three hours, the Cardinals’ catcher said. For Contreras, the communication from someone he idolized for years was like a breath of fresh air, and it allowed him to reset mentally following what he considers the worst slump of his MLB career.

“Victor Martinez is like my second dad, and he called me and he’s one of the people who has been helping throughout my whole career in the big leagues,” Contreras told MLB.com following the Cardinals’ 6-1 loss to the Mets on Friday. “He said nothing but good things about me, and he really pumped me up. He asked me if I had gone through [a slump] like this before and I told him, ‘Not really ever in the big leagues.’ 

“He told me that I should be thankful that it didn’t happen before. He basically told me that I would turn this around, don’t try to do too much and just try to play pepper with the ball. Those were huge words for me.”

Even though the Cardinals were mostly flat at the plate in a game in which they never led and were dismissed in a little over two hours, they had to take some joy out of seeing their prized catcher come alive offensively. Contreras, who was expected to bring a major offensive upgrade to St. Louis this season after signing a five-year, $87.5 million free agent contract, hit a 421-foot home run for the lone run and later singled through the right side. The hope is that Contreras’ first multihit game since May 18 will help jar him from an 18-game stretch where he went just 4-for-58 with 21 strikeouts.

“It was awesome and just what we need from him -- let loose, just play the game and not try to do too much,” Cards manager Oliver Marmol said. “Obviously, it was good to see him hit one. … He took some really good swings, there was some intent with his swing and I feel like a day like today could really get him going, which would be helpful.”

The Cardinals need help from a lot of different avenues, following their sixth straight loss and their 11th defeat in the past 13 games. Starter Miles Mikolas surrendered three runs in the first and two more in the third, and St. Louis was left playing from behind the rest of the game. Mikolas, who received a loss for a third straight game, took responsibility for the defeat.

“That one hurt, it bothers me and I’m frustrated about it,” said Mikolas, who surrendered eight hits and six earned runs over six innings. “I’ve got to come in here and do my work tomorrow and figure out how to help the team. I didn’t do my job tonight, and it’s frustrating.”

"Frustrating" is an apt way to describe the mood of Contreras, who put pressure on himself to try to succeed legendary Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina this season. Instead, Contreras had the primary catching duties yanked away from him in mid-May, and he’s been in a freefall offensively ever since.

“It’s been a couple of tough games for me, especially over the last month or so, and I’m trying to keep my head in a good space and not focus so much on the results, because that can be overwhelming,” said Contreras, who boosted his average from .198 to .204 with Friday’s two hits. “I’m trying to help any way I can -- it could be words from behind the plate or whatever. I’m trying to see the game in a different way and making adjustments mentally.”

Martinez, the career .295 hitter as a switch-hitting catcher, worried about Contreras’ mental approach when he recently watched Cardinals games and saw the catcher openly frustrated with his approach. That led to Thursday’s lengthy call to bring a fresh approach to the predicament Contreras was facing.    

“We clicked from Day 1 because we have similar personalities,” Contreras said of Martinez. "He was one of the best hitting catchers in baseball, he never struck out and always put it in play because he really knew the game. I’m always trying to pick his brain and he’s a huge part of my success in the big leagues.”