Dodgers: Russell Martin Has Historic Pitching Appearance
No matter the situation, it has often been a treat to see Russell Martin on the mound for the Dodgers. On Tuesday night, he made his 4th pitching appearance this season (and of his career) and with that shutout appearance — also his 4th clean inning — he found his name next to a Hall of Famer for an odd reason.
Excluding two-way players, the @Dodgers' Russell Martin is the first position player to pitch in a shutout win for his team since 10/03/1917, when Hall of Famer George Kelly pitched 5.0 shutout innings in the Giants' last game of the season (his only career pitching appearance).
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) August 28, 2019
Thanks to our friends at Stats By STATS on Twitter for the crazy note. In Martin’s previous 3 outings, the scores have been 18-5 (LA lead), 8-2 (ARI lead), and 15-1 (LA lead). With his Tuesday outing, Russ appeared in his first shutout situation and kept it that way.
A similar situation hadn’t happened in the big leagues for over 100 years.
History aside, the outing had to be just an bit sweeter for Martin after returning from the bereavement list following the death of his grandmother.
For the sake of completeness, the catcher’s season ERA remains at 0.00, with his WHIP rising all the way to 0.50 in 4 innings pitched. For his career, he’s allowed only 2 hits while striking out 2.
[adace-ad id=”113316″]2019 has been a fun renaissance (and oddly historic) season for the veteran.
Kinda makes you wonder, could he be a secret weapon in the post season? Does he have a 2nd pitch? Just for nostalgia sake, who would be more fun to be on the mound pitching thd last out to win the WS? Kenley, Kershaw, or Russell Martin!
Martin. Kershaw and Jansen don’t deserve it for their years of choking
I thought signing Martin was a good thing to have a veteran and professional back-up catcher. Who knew what else he would do. Congrats!
I’m amazed at how teams struggle against him when they know a 89 mph fastball is coming pretty much every pitch
Finally, someone out of the bull pen who doesn’t automatically come ini a give up a long-ball!