Fifth-starter battle heating up between Parker, Ogasawara

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- As the competition for the fifth starter ramps up with a week left in camp, southpaws Mitchell Parker and Shinnosuke Ogasawara both pitched on Saturday. Parker started the evening Grapefruit League game against the Mets, and Ogasawara threw in the backfield at CACTI Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.

Ogasawara, Parker and DJ Herz are in contention for the final spot in the Nationals¡¯ starting rotation.

¡°It was good to see both of those guys today,¡± Martinez said after the 4-1 win. ¡°They both threw the ball really well, so it was a good day for our pitching staff.¡±

Parker looked to be in regular-season form facing Brandon Nimmo, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker in the top of the order. Parker worked five frames -- including a 1-2-3 first inning -- on 76 pitches. He got out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning to hold the Mets to one run and two hits with four walks and one strikeout.

¡°He cruised through the first inning,¡± Martinez said. ¡°What I liked was, he pitched in some high-leverage situations and was able to make some good pitches and get out of it, which was awesome. ¡­ He threw a lot of pitches, but still he battled back and threw strikes when he needed to. His stuff was good.¡±

This spring, Parker is decision-less with a 3.65 ERA in four outings (two starts) across 12 1/3 innings. He is looking to make his first Opening Day roster after debuting last season on April 15.

In his rookie year, Parker went 7-10 with a 4.29 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He made 29 starts and gained 151 innings of big league experience. Among all qualified rookie pitchers last season, Parker posted the second-best home ERA (2.65), ranked fifth in strikeouts (133) and tied for eighth in wins.

¡°I¡¯m confident with everything and where we¡¯re at right now,¡± Parker said. ¡°I¡¯m just trying not to think about it. Just trying to go out there and do my job and whatever happens, happens.¡±

Earlier in the day, Ogasawara called his own pitches for the first time in camp and saw positive results. He reached five innings on an efficient 53 pitches.

¡°He did really well,¡± Martinez said. ¡°His breaking ball was a lot sharper, his cutter was really good, and his changeup has always been good. He was attacking the strike zone. ¡­ Watching video, that's what we've known of him: just a strike thrower. [He was] way better, so that was awesome to see.¡±

Ogasawara is 1-2 with a 7.56 ERA in four Grapefruit League starts. This is his first experience facing Major League hitters after playing nine years in Japan. In his last start on March 10 against the Marlins, Ogasawara threw 83 pitches in 3 2/3 innings.

¡°I think [pitching in the backfield] kind of slowed him down a little bit,¡± Martinez said. ¡°That's something that we want to do with them -- just let them go out there and just kind of relax. This is new to him. I know he's trying to make an impression. ¡­ He's pitched every seven days [in Japan], and now he's trying to get ready every five days. So he had to change a whole lot.¡±

Ogasawara also wanted to call pitches for the first time on Saturday, something MacKenzie Gore and Lucas Sims do in games.

¡°There were only a couple sequences that we thought, ¡®We'll find out why he wanted to do that.¡¯ But other than that, he was pretty good,¡± Martinez said, adding, ¡°When he fell behind, he used a lot more breaking pitches; when he was ahead, he threw his fastball a lot more; where it was kind of vice versa with his outings.¡±