On this day in 1995, a pitcher named Martinez threw a no-hitter against the Florida Marlins. It wasn't the legendary Pedro Martinez, who once toiled for the Dodgers before an ill-fated trade sent him to the Montreal Expos for second baseman Delino Deshields. The artist on the mound 13 years ago today was Pedro's older brother Ramon, a lanky righthander who was a stalwart in the Dodgers' rotation for most of the 1990s.
Martinez' no-hitter, which was the last by a Dodger pitcher at Dodger Stadium, was the culmination of his career as a Dodger where he won 123 games in 200 decisions. Martinez won 20 games for the Dodgers in 1990, finishing second in the Cy Young balloting that season. He also led the National League in shutouts with three in the strike shortened season of 1994, and finished fifth in the National League Cy Young vote in 1995.
The game started out as a pitcher's duel on a Friday night at Dodger Stadium, but the Dodgers broke through in the third off of Florida's John Burkett with RBI singles by Jose Offerman and Mike Piazza. Todd Hollandsworth had RBI hits in the fourth and sixth, and Offerman contributed a bases loaded three run triple in the sixth to plate the Dodgers' final runs in the 7-0 victory.
Meanwhile Martinez was cruising, retiring the Marlins in order in innings one through seven. He retired the first two batters in the top of the eighth as well, before a two out walk to Tommy Gregg spoiled his dream of a perfect game. He rebounded to strike out Kurt Abbott to end the inning, and then retired the Marlins in order in the ninth to earn the no-hitter.
Martinez' no-hitter was probably his shining moment as a Dodger, but there were many other great games in his Dodger career. He made his debut in August of 1988 with 7 2/3 innings of four hit, one run ball against the hated Giants in a game the Dodgers would win 2-1. In 1990, he tied a Dodger record by striking out 18 Braves on a magical June night at Dodger Stadium. In 1991, he had back to back complete game five hit shutouts in April against division rivals San Diego and San Francisco, and he threw a three hit shutout at Florida on June 7, 1994.
We'll never know what would have happened if the Dodgers had not traded Pedro and kept the Martinez brothers on the same staff. We do know that Ramon Martinez was a very good pitcher for many years, and is certainly on the A-list of the best righthanded hurlers in Los Angeles Dodgers history.
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