WASHINGTON ¨C The mound in the Nationals bullpen was unoccupied in the seventh inning. At a point in the game where they usually are warming up ¨C and most times already had been called upon ¨C the relievers and staff were soaking in the performance of Mitchell Parker.
Parker has been giving the Nats deep outings all season, and on Tuesday, he completed a career-high eight innings against the Orioles.
¡°Personally, I¡¯m not trying to think of any of that,¡± Parker said. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to go back out on the little dirt hill out there and do it as many times as possible, over and over again.¡±
The second-year southpaw maneuvered a one-hit, scoreless performance on 99 pitches in the Nationals¡¯ 7-0 win in the Beltway Series opener at Nationals Park. Parker issued two walks while striking out four.
¡°I saw it from the first inning,¡± catcher Keibert Ruiz said. ¡°His stuff was sharp, his fastball command -- he was doing everything, getting ahead in the counts, making pitches to put away, and he was really good tonight. I¡¯m really happy for him.¡±
Parker attributed his efficiency to inducing soft contact. Manager Dave Martinez noted Parker was staying in his legs and achieving a downhill plane deep in the game.
¡°I really just felt like I had good feel for what the body was doing,¡± Parker said. ¡°I was able to force them to make the contact that we were aiming for, and be able to use the guys that are behind me to make the cool plays and keep me in the game.¡±
After opening the game on a four-pitch walk to Cedric Mullins, Parker went into cruise control. His only hit allowed was a third-inning, line-drive single by Mullins, and he retired the last 17 batters faced.
"He kind of did the same thing to us last year,¡± Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. ¡°It¡¯s kind of a sneaky fastball. A high-release, sneaky fastball. We¡¯re late on it. And then to the lefties, a lot of breaking balls, a tough time staying on. But we didn¡¯t work the count on him. We didn¡¯t make it very tough on him.¡±
Parker improved to 3-1 with a 1.39 ERA on the season. He is pacing all pitchers with four starts of six-plus innings without giving up more than one earned run.
¡°When he pounds that strike zone, he¡¯s been tough,¡± said Martinez. ¡°He threw the ball really well. He was all over the strike zone today. He puts those guys in swing mode, and then that¡¯s when you get some chases.¡±
Parker also is only one of nine starters who have pitched into the eighth inning this season. He ranked near the top of all pitchers in innings pitched (32 1/3) following his outing.
"He¡¯s a pretty good arm,¡± said Tyler O'Neill, who went 0-for-3 against Parker. ¡°He¡¯s able to mix three pitches pretty well, hitting spots. He obviously did a good job at that tonight, so just got to tip your hat and move onto tomorrow."
Parker is no stranger to big performances. Just over a year ago on April 15, 2024, Parker made his Major League debut against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. He faced Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman at the top of the order. Parker struck out Betts in his first big league at-bat.
¡°We saw it last year, and he¡¯s got some confidence in him because he¡¯s done it,¡± said Martinez. ¡°He understands what he needs to do, and he¡¯s going out there and attacking the zone. He¡¯s got good stuff. He mixes all of his pitches in well. Him and Keibert work good together, so it¡¯s been good.¡±
Parker is the 10th starter in team history (2005-present) to throw eight-plus shutout frames while allowing one or fewer hits. He is a key contributor to Washington¡¯s starting rotation that has pitched to a 1.71 ERA (eight earned runs across 42 1/3 innings) and a .153 opponents¡¯ average in the last seven games.
¡°It¡¯s awesome,¡± Parker said. ¡°That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve gone that deep into a game, so it¡¯s definitely something to hold onto.¡±