  Shairon Martis returns to Major League
Nederlands
 MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (USA) -
Dutch pitcher Shairon Martis returned to the Major League after a 4-year absence, as he took the mound on Wednesday-evening, September 11 for the Minnesota Twins in an 18-3 loss against the Oakland Athletics.
The 26-year old righthander last pitched in the Majors on June 27, 2009 when he was the starting pitcher for the Washington Nationals against the Baltimore Orioles.
Martis then pitched in five innings, struckout four, walked three, gave up six hits and four earned runs to become the losing pitcher in a 6-3 loss.
...Shairon Martis pitching against Cuba in the World Baseball Classic...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
This season, Martis played the entire season in the Triple-A team of the Twins and was primarily used as a reliever and closer.
On Monday (September 9), he was added to the Major League-roster of the Twins.
On Wednesday, Martis made his debut in a Minnesota-uniform and entered the game against Oakland in the top of the eighth inning with the Twins trailing 16-3.
Oakland had rallied for ten runs in the fourth at bat.
Martis, who took over for reliever Cole De Vries, had a fine comeback on the highest level, as he retired the side including two strikeouts.
The first batter he faced, Eric Sogard, flied out.
Martis then struckout Michael Choice and Andy Parrino to end the inning.
In the ninth inning, he was relieved by Michael Tonkin.
De Vries and Tonkin were also recalled to the big league-squad on Monday.
Shairon Martis, who was born in Willemstad (Curaçao), signed a professional contract with the San Francisco Giants on February 10, 2004, one month before he turned 17.
He made his professional debut in 2005, pitching in 11 games in the Rookie League-team of the Giants.
The next season, Martis promoted and played on three different levels: Single-A Advanced, Double-A and Single-A.
He also played for four different teams that season, as he was traded to the Washington Nationals on July 28, 2006.
After having played in the Class-A Advanced in 2007, Martis played in Double-A and Triple-A in 2008.
This was a successful season for Martis, as he also was recalled to the Major League-team of the Washtington Nationals in September.
And so, on September 4, 2008, Martis made his debut in the Major League when he was the starting pitcher for Washington against the Atlanta Braves in a 2-0 loss.
Martis pitched five innings and was the losing pitcher.
In that same game, fellow-Dutchman Roger Bernadina went 1-for-1 as a pinch-hitter for the Nationals.
Martis appeared in five big league-games and ended the season with an 1-3 record and a 5.66 ERA.
He pitched in 20 2/3 innings, striking out 23 batters.
In 2009, Martis began the season in Triple-A, but also pitched again in the Majors for the Nationals.
He then appeared in 15 games, all as a starter and was 5-3 with a 5.25 ERA.
He struckout 34 batters in 85 2/3 innings, but also walked 39 and gave up 83 basehits and 52 runs.
After having pitched in Triple-A in 2010, Martis made a step backwards in 2011, as he played the entire season in Double-A.
On November 2, 2011, Martis became a Free Agent, then signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates twenty days later.
In 2012, Martis again played for four different teams in Double-A and Triple-A for two organizations.
Martis began the season in the Pirates-organization, but on June 27, 2012, the Minnesota Twins purchased him from the Pirates.
This year, the righthander was 2-4 for the Rochester Red Wings, the Triple-A team of the Twins.
Martis appeared in 42 games, including three as starter, as he was primarily used as a reliever this season.
He was used as a closer in 21 of these games and earned 11 saves.
In 80 1/3 innings, he struckout 65 batters and walked 31.
In March of this year, Shairon Martis participated with the Dutch National Baseball Team in the World Baseball Classic.
In the first WBC in 2006, Martis threw a No-Hitter against Panama.
In 2011, he was one of the pitchers for the Dutch Team which then captured the world championship-title in Panama.
Martis also played for the Orange squad in the Olympic Games of 2008 in Beijing (China).
Last year, he was the losing pitcher for the Dutch in the final of the European Championship.
With the addition of Martis, there are now eight players with the Dutch nationality currently playing in the Major League.
The others are outfielder Roger Bernadina (Philadelphia Phillies), infielder Didi Gregorius (Arizona Diamondbacks), pitcher Kenley Jansen (Los Angeles Dodgers), infielder Andrelton Simmons (Atlanta Braves), infielder Jurickson Profar (Texas Rangers), Xander Bogaerts (Boston Red Sox) and Jonathan Schoop (Baltimore Orioles).
Schoop was recalled on September 4, but has not played yet for the Orioles.
When he plays, he will make his Major League-debut.
(September 11)
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