TORONTO -- Victor Martinez has played nearly every day during the Detroit Tigers' 11-game losing streak, yet hasn't driven in a run or had an extra-base hit.

In 286 plate appearances this year, Martinez has just 10 doubles and four home runs. He has a mediocre .623 OPS (.241/.297/.326). Rated by wins above replacement, Martinez is the worst designated hitter in baseball by a wide margin.

But lacking better options, manager Ron Gardenhire has firmly supported Martinez. The club's long losing streak hasn't caused him to waiver.

"As I have told you guys before, he's hitting the ball as hard as anybody," Gardenhire said. "How many rockets does he hit and they're playing the shift and they end up catching them? That's taking away from RBIs from him. I don't expect him to be a 100-RBI guy anymore, but I expect quality at-bats and I believe he's getting us a ton of quality at-bats. As good as anybody else on this roster can."

Martinez, 39, is making $18 million in the final year of his contract. Although Martinez hasn't announced his impending retirement and seems uninterested in any kind of farewell tour, this will almost certainly be the last year of a great career. Gardenhire said he's committed to seeing that career to the finish line.

"We all know what's going on with him. It's the last year of his contract," Gardenhire said. "Right now he feels really good, he's feeling great, so we're letting him play. We'll get him more breaks as we go along. But like I said, if this is his swan song, or whatever you want to call it, I'm going to make sure he gets as many opportunities as he needs here as we go along. Hopefully he'll keep having quality at-bats."