Washington Nationals news & notes: Mitchell Parker wraps up 2024 campaign in Nats’ loss to the Royals…

Notes and quotes on the Nationals’ series opening loss to the Royals on Tuesday night in the nation’s capital…

MITCHELL PARKER’S FIRST START:

Mitchell Parker, a 2020 5th Round pick, made his MLB debut in Los Angeles back in mid-April in Dodger Stadium, where the soon-to-turn, 25-year-old southpaw went five strong innings on 81 pitches, striking out four without walking a batter while giving up two runs.

Parker came up in the immediate aftermath of Josiah Gray’s season-ending elbow injury, and though he got the call earlier than he might have otherwise out of necessity, he did hang around in the majors to make 28 starts going into his final outing on Tuesday night.

“He’s come a long way. He’s had — for us he’s way ahead of the game,” Nats’ manager Davey Martinez told reporters before the start of the final homestand of the season and start No. 29 for Parker. “He’s done really well. I know he’s had his ups and downs here as of late, but he should be proud of what he’s done.

“We saw him in Spring Training, we talked to him a lot about his walk rate, getting his walk rate down, attacking the strike zone, being more efficient. He did all that. And he did it well.

“And he had some really good starts for us. So now he’s got to go home this winter — well, one — he’s got to finish up strong today — and then go home this winter, and continue to build off of that. I think the kid’s got a bright future, I really do.

“He’s got really good pitches, his split is really good. He’s going to work really hard on his breaking ball again, and his fastball location.

“That’s the thing with him: when he locates his fastball really well and can throw it for strikes, his split plays that much better.”

As the seventh-year skipper explained, Parker had just those two pitches when he made his debut against the Dodgers.

“I remember the first start he had, against the Dodgers, which is not an easy task,” Martinez recalled. “He couldn’t throw his curveball for a strike to save his life. I came in and I said, ‘Hey, two pitches.’ And he looked at me like, ‘Huh.’ I said, ‘No more curveballs, because you’re putting yourself in a hole.’ I said, ‘You’re going to throw your splitter and you’re going to throw your fastball.’ ‘Okay.’ He went out there and he gave us five good innings. But I said, ‘We got to figure out how to get that curveball for strikes, or forget it. It’s just not working right now.’ But that was a lot of nerves too. I mean, in Dodger Stadium, facing a really good lineup. But he went through it really well.

“The funny thing is, I talked to Freddie [Freeman] about it, he says, ‘Hey, that guy’s friggin’ splitter is nasty. And his fastball has late life to it.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s a pretty good combination.’ I said, ‘What did you think about his curveball?’ And he said, ‘What curveball?’ And I said, ‘Exactly, yeah.’ But he’s learned a lot. He’s learned a lot about himself, which is awesome.”

MITCHELL PARKER’S FINAL START OF 2024:

Parker struggled in his start in Citi Field last week, giving up seven hits, two walks, and five runs, all earned in 3 ²⁄₃ innings pitched. Five straight batters reached base in the third, and four runs scored. He was done for the day after 78 pitches, two more than he’d thrown in 6 ¹⁄₃ in his previous outing.

“I just wasn’t executing pitches,” Parker told reporters, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman.

“I was getting to two strikes and not able to put anything away. And you can’t walk two guys and expect not to have anything bad happen, especially against a team like this.”

“His stuff was good,” manager Davey Martinez told reporters after a 10-1 loss to the Mets, “… he just couldn’t control the strike zone. Fell behind a lot. Built his pitch count up pretty high for three innings.”

“He started off really, really well,” Martinez added when asked about Parker’s rookie season as a whole.

“Towards the middle there he kind of got into a little funk. He got better. A couple outings before this one were better, this one, just, like I said, the pitch count got up there.

“His stuff was still good, he just couldn’t find the strike zone.”

Parker dealt with some adversity early in the series opener with Kansas City’s Royals last night in the nation’s capital, working around an error and back-to-back singles after he’d waited out a 40-minute rain delay.

He retired six straight after the first three batters reached base, before giving up a one-out hit and walk and base-loading, two-out free pass. He stranded those runners too, and back-to-back, two-out singles in the fourth, then retired the Royals in order in his fifth and final frame of the game (and season).

Parker walked two and struck out five in five scoreless, throwing 91 pitches, 59 for strikes, with 12 swinging and 15 called strikes in a 1-0, extra-innings loss in which he received no decision.

“Mitchell Parker did really well. It was great to see him finish up like that,” Martinez said in his post game comments.

He finished the season with a 4.29 ERA, a 3.85 FIP, 43 walks (2.56 BB/9), 133 Ks (7.93 K/9), and 18 home runs allowed in 29 starts and 151 IP (1.07 HR/9).

“I thought he threw the ball really well,” Martinez continued.

“He got out of a heck of a first inning there, and made an unbelievable play (for the third out), but after that first inning he really settled down and really controlled the strike zone well.”

“I told him, I said, ‘Hey, that’s awesome. Way to finish off. And we can build off of that.’”

“He can go home and really say, ‘Hey, I’ve done well, and I’m going to get better in the winter and come back ready to go in spring.”