Russell Martin pitches himself into history books

Saturday night was a memorable night for Dodgers fans. They got to see their team tack on 18 runs in an absolute offensive onslaught of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

However, all the hits and home runs won’t be what fans take away and remember most from last nights affair. It was a 1-2-3 ninth innings in a 13-run game.

Getting his first action on the mound last night, was 36-year-old Russell Martin. Yeah, the Dodgers’ catcher. With a 13-run lead in the final frame, manager Dave Roberts sent out his catcher to the mound to help secure the win.

Usually when a position player comes in to pitch, it’s when their team is down a lot of runs in the late stages of a game. Though on Saturday, it was quite the opposite. After nearly blowing through his entire plethora of arms on Friday night, Roberts wanted to save an arm, and used his catcher instead.

It worked, as Martin pitched a quick 1-2-3 ninth, making some history in the process.

Roberts joked about using Martin after the game. “He was our most effective pitcher these three games.” he said.

Weeks ago at Spring Training, I caught up with Martin and talked with him about his ability to play all over the field. He talked about how he can play anywhere, but still had one position to check off his bucket list.

Martin, who said he hasn’t pitched in a game in 20 years, was all smiles after his outing.

Should this be his last career time stepping foot on the mound, he’ll retire with a career ERA and WHIP of 0.00. Truly remarkable.