Senators' Martis no-hits Fisher Cats

Shairon Martis was nearly flawless Friday, throwing the third no-hitter in Senators history as Double-A Harrisburg blanked the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 3-0, in the first game of a doubleheader.

The 24-year-old right-hander struck out nine and faced the minimum, despite walking one batter, in his eighth win of the season.

A veteran of 20 Major League games, Martis (8-5) pitched a perfect first and struck out the side in the second before Callix Crabbe drew a leadoff walk in the third, becoming the Fisher Cats' lone baserunner.

Like his time in MiLB.com's Moniker Madness tournament, Crabbe didn't last long on the bases. Martis got Jonathan Diaz to bounce back to the mound for a double play, struck out Craig Stansberry and retired his final 13 batters.

The native of Curacao fanned two in the fourth, popped up Eastern League MVP Travis d'Arnaud to start the fifth, got Crabbe and Stansberry swinging in the sixth and cruised through the seventh, retiring Anthony Gose and John Tolisano before getting Kevin Howard to hit a line drive to third, setting off a celebration on the mound.

The game, which took just 1 hour, 43 minutes, ended with Martis getting a standing ovation from fans at New Hampshire's Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.

It was the first no-hitter in the Eastern League since Kyle Drabek tossed a nine-inning gem for New Hampshire on July 4, 2010.

Chuck James, Cole Kimball and Zech Zinicola combined on the Senators' last no-hitter on June 10, 2010.

Martis' no-hitter is the 16th in the Minors this season and the fourth this month, coming eight days after Scott Snodgress and two Great Falls relievers combined to blank Casper. Palm Beach's Tyler Lyons pitched a seven-inning Florida State League no-hitter against Fort Myers on Aug. 6 and Juan Francisco also threw a seven-inning no-hitter for the Brewers' Dominican Summer League affiliate on Aug. 15.

Martis began his career in 2004 when he signed as a free agent with the Giants. He pitched a seven-inning no-hitter for the Netherlands at the 2006 World Baseball Classic and was a Futures Game All-Star in 2008, the same summer he made his Major League debut with Washington. He appeared in 20 games with the Nationals from 2008-09 before going 8-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 27 starts for Triple-A Syracuse last season.

Eastern League postseason All-Star first baseman Tyler Moore hit his 29th home run in the seventh, his first of two on the day, and Chris Rahl added his fourth in the second in support of Martis.

Major League veteran Dustin McGowan (0-2) allowed two runs on three hits over 4 2/3 innings for New Hampshire.