ATLANTA (AP) -Jason Bergmann was removed from the Washington Nationals' rotation for the rest of the season Saturday following his latest rocky outing.
Nationals manager Manny Acta said rookie right-hander Shairon Martis will remain in the rotation. Martis gave up four hits and five walks but only two earned runs in five innings during his major league debut Thursday night, a 2-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves.
Bergmann (2-11) is 1-10 in his last 20 games after giving up seven runs in 2 1-3 innings of Friday night's 10-5 loss to the Braves.
Acta said the move to leave Martis in the rotation will ``give us an opportunity to see the young man and get a better picture for what we're getting next year.''
Bergmann has a 5.23 ERA. He has made 22 starts and has struggled with inconsistency.
``When (Bergmann's) going to struggle, we can see it early,'' Acta said. ``And he has a tough time snapping out of it and stopping the bleeding and just having a decent start instead of having a poor one.
``When he's great, he just cruises. He tries too hard. He's really been over-thinking. We just want to see more consistency out of him,'' the manager added.
Acta said no decision has been made on Bergmann's future as a starter or reliever.
