Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats beat Tigers in extras, 5-4; Mitchell Parker in Detroit + more…

Notes and quotes from the Nationals’ series opener with the Tigers in Comerica Park…

FOUR UNEARNED RUNS:

Mitchell Parker’s tenth start in the majors last week was a seven-inning, 71-pitch outing in which he gave up three hits, one a home run, and two earned runs, striking out two without walking a batter.

It was the tenth time in his first 10 starts in the majors the 24-year-old left-handed allowed 3 ER or fewer. Parker’s consistency has impressed, if it hasn’t surprised, his manager.

“We talked about this earlier, about how it’s a long year,” Davey Martinez told reporters, “… it’s hard … but what he’s doing, it really doesn’t surprise me because of how poised he is. Like, he’s going to get the ball, he’s going to attack, he works quick, and he’s going to be in the zone. The day that he’s not that good, not that fresh, then it’s probably good to take him out earlier, but man, he goes out there and he just competes, he competes every pitch like I said. He’s got good stuff. Not overpowering, but he knows what he wants to do every time he’s out there, every pitch he makes, and he gets quick outs.”

Photo by Steven King/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“We’ve been going with the same approach every start: Try not to overthink it, and attack them,” Parker said after the outing, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman. “And when we attack them, good things obviously happen. Just try not to overthink it.”

The efficiency of getting through seven inning on 71 pitches stood out as well.

“He was pounding the strike zone, they were aggressive, he got early outs, so it was awesome,” Martinez said. “He pitched really, really well.”

In start No. 11 for Parker, the southpaw worked around a two-out double in the first, left two men on in the second, retired the side in order in the third, and stranded a one-out single in the fourth, completing four scoreless on 59 pitches, and he got two outs around a one-out walk in the fifth, before things went all pear-shaped on the starter.

Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images

It starter with an error by the pitcher, who booted a grounder back to the mound off Andy Ibañez’s bat, putting two on. Mark Canha walked to load the bases, before Riley Greene’s triple to right-center cleared the bases. An error by Luis García, Jr. on the cut throw to third let Greene score for a little league grand slam and a 4-3 Tigers’ lead after Jesse Winker had walked with the bases loaded to force in a run in the Nats’ half of the third and CJ Abrams tripled to drive one in in the fifth before scoring on a sac fly by Lane Thomas.

“He threw strikes when he needed to, as he always does, but he threw the ball well, he really did,” Martinez said after Parker finished the night with just two swinging but 17 called strikes against the Tigers’ hitters.

“He mixed his pitches up again. Everything was going smooth until that [fifth] inning. The walk to the nine-hole hitter on four pitches, I started to getting some guys up, but at that time he only had 60-something pitches, I said, ‘He can manage through this, he’ll be okay,’ and then the one error was the big one with two outs.

“But you know what, we got through it. I’m proud of him. He’s been pitching really well and he’s been keeping us in the game, so he’s done well.”

“I let the game speed up on me, I tried to make the throw before I even fielded it, so I mean, got to be better than that,” Parker said of the error.

“We do it a lot during Spring Training. Do it a lot while we’re here. Just have to have that, can’t let that happen.”

Sounds like he’ll be doing some more PFP in the near-future. Martinez was asked what his message was for the starter on the misplay.

“PFPs. We’re going to do PFPs. I mean, really. I sat there, and I told you, I’m not going to lie to you, I sat there scratching my head, like, ‘You can’t get a ball easier than that.’ But that’s why this is a funny game. Sometimes things happen, but like I said, I’m really proud of the boys for battling tonight.”

Parker’s takeaway from the costly E:1?

“Catch the ball and make the throw,” he said with a laugh. “Don’t let the game speed up on me. I mean, it’s a fast game, but don’t make it any faster than it has to be.”

The young starter admitted he probably let the error get into his head and affect the at-bats which followed.

“I probably let it linger with me a little too long,” he said, “… and then at some point kind of reeled everything back in, but definitely let it in the head for a little too long.”

THE BOYS DON’T QUIT:

Trailing 4-3 in the eighth, the Nationals tied things up with a one-out single by Lane Thomas and ROE on a grounder to short by Jesse Winker setting Idlemaro Vargas up with a pinch hit opportunity he cashed in with a sac fly, 4-4. It was tied after nine, so they went to extras and took advantage of a wild pitch/strike three with the free runner on second base and Abrams at the plate to get first and third with no outs so a sac fly by Thomas gave them the 5-4 lead which held up when Kyle Finnegan retired the Tigers in order in the bottom of the 10th.

“[The character] they showed tonight was awesome,” Davey Martinez said after the series-opening win. “We had the lead, we lost the lead, they fought, they fought to scratch and claw, and the guys at the back end of the bullpen kept it together, and we were able to score one more than them, sometimes that’s what it takes. But I’m proud of the guys. They battled, they stuck in there, and we end up winning the game.”

HARD-EARNED OFF-DAY MONDAY; 1-0 TODAY:

In their 17th game in 17 days this past Sunday, Davey Martinez’s club blew things open with a seven-run fourth inning and held on for an 8-5 win, taking 3 of 4 games from Atlanta for the second time in two, four-game series with their NL East rivals this season.

Getting the effort he got from his team in the 17th-straight game really impressed Martinez.

“I’ve said this since Spring Training, right? This group is fun. They play with a lot of energy. And it showed here this last series. Seventeen games in a row without a day off, and they’re going out battling and grinding. This last few games were amazing, and I’m proud of them, because they just keep going. They don’t quit. So much-needed day off, and then we’ll head to Detroit and we’ll go 1-0 Tuesday.”