On Sunday Shairon Martis concluded his dream season with a relief appearance against the Philadelphia Phillies. He replaced Washington Nationals starter Odalis Perez with Eric Bruntlett on second, two outs and a 4-3 lead for the Phillies. He induced Tadahito Iguchi into a flyout and stayed on the mound for two more innings. Two hits and a run, while striking out three. 25 of his 36 pitches were strikes.
It was his fifth appearance (four starts) for the Nationals since his call-up at the beginning of September. He had a 1-3 record with an ERA of 5.66 (WHIP 1.452) and 23 strikeouts (twelve walks) in 20 2/3 innings. It was the highlight for Martis in a successful year.
He started the season with the Double A team in Harrisburg, posting a 4-4 record with an ERA of 3.98 in 14 starts. He struck out 57 (28 bb) in 74.2 innings pitched and earned a promotion to Columbus in the International League (AAA). In seven starts there, he won one game and lost two with an ERA of 3.02 and 42 K’s (17 walks) in 41.2 innings pitched. In between he went to Beijing with the Dutch national team and started against Canada and Team USA in the Olympics (0-2, ERA 6.75).
With his performance at the Major League level he probably gets invited to the big league spring training in March 2009 with a chance to make the Nats rotation.