In Wednesday night’s 12-3 loss to the San Diego Padres, the grind claimed Nationals left-hander Mitchell Parker. What did the grind look like? It looked like Parker’s sleeve, which he used to wipe sweat from his forehead throughout a 31-pitch first inning. It looked like a quick glance toward the bullpen on his walk back to the dugout to see that his night was, indeed, done after he allowed six earned runs on seven hits and three walks in three innings.
For the Nationals (47-55), it also looked like another series loss. The only emotional reprieve came with a bit of levity in the ninth when 33-year-old utility infielder Ildemaro Vargas pitched a scoreless inning, ending the frame by stabbing a 91.4-mph comebacker (much to the delight of Vargas and the dwindling crowd of 23,323 at Nationals Park).
If there was desperation by the end, the beginning brought optimism — and runs. Lane Thomas and Jesse Winker, staples in the heart of the order as well as in trade rumors, had back-to-back singles to give the Nationals a first-inning lead. Juan Yepez, who was brought up from Class AAA Rochester on July 5 and has a 1.043 OPS since, then hit a two-run homer to make it 3-0. And thus ended the run-producing part of the Nationals’ night.
“We’ve played them tough, outside of today. I feel like we’ve been in every game,” Winker said. “It’s a good team. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat. They did everything tonight.”
For the third time in seven games, the Nationals’ starter didn’t make it to the fourth inning. Two of those starts belong to Parker. In the 95 games that preceded this stretch, it had happened once.
“It sucks,” Parker said. “It’s not in the game plan. Not how we envisioned it going. Just sucks.”
A month ago, the Nationals’ starting rotation had a 3.82 ERA, which placed it in the top half of MLB. Over the past month, their ERA is 5.74, the worst in baseball. Parker was the model of consistency during his first 12 starts, when he conceded three or fewer runs in each outing and posted a 3.06 ERA. In the six starts since, his ERA is 7.48.
“When he got ahead, he got guys out,” Manager Dave Martinez said. “When he didn’t get ahead, everybody got on base.”
The staff fatigue as a whole has not gone unnoticed by Martinez. MacKenzie Gore, 25, is 36⅓ innings from his career high; Jake Irvin, 27, is 20⅓ away; DJ Herz, 23, has never topped 95⅓ innings and is already at 75⅔ between Rochester and Washington. Parker is 24⅔ innings away from his career high. The only starter to see his ERA improve during this stretch is 35-year-old Patrick Corbin, who has pitched nearly 2,000 innings in the majors.
“It’s different, but it’s something you’ve got to get used to,” Parker said of the MLB schedule’s toll. “Hopefully it’s going to happen for a long time, so I just have to adjust and figure things out. Luckily, there’s enough guys here to ask questions that have done it for a lot longer than I have.”
Parker’s regression cannot be blamed solely on fatigue. His stuff at the top of the strike zone, which once seemed nearly untouchable, has not held up. Martinez said the Nationals will have Parker throw a bullpen session in the next few days to address mechanical issues.
After a scoreless first, Parker found trouble in the second, yielding a two-run single to Luis Arraez. Parker has left more pitches over the middle of the plate during his recent stretch, and Jurickson Profar took advantage after Arraez’s single, blasting a two-run homer that gave the Padres (54-50) a 4-3 lead. Even Parker’s splitter, a pitch that has mostly held up, was smoked by Kyle Higashioka for a double that keyed a two-run third and ended Parker’s night.
“With the extra rest, everything felt good,” Parker said. “That’s why it’s even more frustrating. I was hoping to go out there and eat up a couple of innings for us and keep us in a ballgame, and it’s not how it worked out.”
Jordan Weems replaced Parker in the fourth but offered little relief, yielding five runs — highlighted by a triple from Jackson Merrill, the standout rookie from Severna Park who finished a home run shy of the cycle — to raise his ERA to 6.59. Jacob Barnes entered for the fifth and allowed another run.
“After a point with him, he just gets in his head, tries to overthrow,” Martinez said of Weems. “When situations like that arise, you just got to focus on that very pitch and don’t worry about the outcome.”
Notes: The Nationals signed catcher Caleb Lomavita, the No. 39 pick in the draft. Their only picks who have not signed are New Jersey high school shortstop Luke Dickerson (second round), Florida State righty Yoel Tejeda Jr. (14th round) and Florida third baseman Colby Shelton (20th). The deadline to sign picks is 5 p.m. Aug. 1.
