Parker bounces back, leads Nats to easy win over Rockies (updated)

Mitchell Parker has endured through three disastrous starts in the last five weeks, once failing to get out of the first inning, once failing to get out of the third inning and most recently getting torched by the Phillies for nine runs.

Those outings could’ve completely spoiled the left-hander’s rookie season, left him spiraling out of control or perhaps even facing a demotion to Triple-A Rochester. Instead, Parker has found a way to shrug them off and right his ship before it goes too wayward.

And with seven sparkling innings tonight to lead the Nationals to an easy 6-1 victory over the Rockies, he enjoyed perhaps his best display of resiliency yet.

"This is who we saw earlier," manager Davey Martinez said. "This is who he can be."

Parker cruised through Colorado’s lineup tonight, needing only 83 pitches to complete seven innings for the fourth time in his 23 big league starts. The 24-year-old remains a work-in-progress, and his 4.26 ERA suggests there’s still plenty of room for improvement (and especially consistency).

But every time it has looked like the magic of Parker’s rookie season might disappear for good, he has responded with a bounce-back performance like tonight’s gem before an appreciative crowd of 18,847.

"Like we've been saying all year with it: Learn what you can from things like the last one," Parker said. "Ride with them, and keep learning. Try and learn every day."

If Parker was looking to set a positive tone tonight and erase the memory of his nine-run disaster in Philadelphia, he did so with a near-flawless top of the first that required only 11 pitches, nine of them strikes. He never let up after that.

Parker cruised through his first four innings on a scant 45 pitches, getting some help thanks to a nifty 5-4-3 double play in the third turned by José Tena, Luis García Jr. and Joey Gallo. He finally issued his first walk in the fifth but responded with three straight outs, posting another zero in the process. And with a breezy, 10-pitch top of the sixth, he returned to the dugout with the shutout intact, his total pitch count still only 70 and zero reason for Martinez to think about calling down to the bullpen.

"I try not to look up at that board at all," Parker said with a laugh. "I know as soon as I look up there, I'm going to get in my own head or something. So I avoid that thing at all costs. But (with) the early contact, I knew we were in a good zone."

Martinez had that luxury both because of his rookie starter’s efficiency, but also because of the five-run cushion his lineup created with a long-awaited explosion at the plate.

The Nats entered this one having scored only 14 runs over their last six games. And though tonight’s matchup against Tanner Gordon – a rookie right-hander with a 7.00 ERA in six career starts prior to this outing – looked favorable on paper, this team’s recent struggles at the plate no matter the quality of opponent had to leave at least a little bit of doubt in everyone’s minds.

The Nationals took care of those doubts without waiting too long, jumping on the board in the bottom of the second and then piling on one inning later.

"We were having better at-bats today," Martinez said. "The whole idea was to stay right there. Don't try to force things. We'll get some runs on the board. They did that, and it worked out well for us."

They got their first run thanks to Gallo, who more than two months after landing on the injured list with a hamstring strain finally delivered again at the big league level with an RBI double to right. Gallo was poised for a rare triple, but alas he could not be credited with one because Andrés Chaparro was thrown out at the plate in front of him on the play.

The biggest blast came in the bottom of the third, off the bat of García, who drove a 1-0 sinker from Gordon deep to right-center for his 15th homer of the season, the latest display of clutch power from the young second baseman in his breakthrough year. That completed a four-run rally, extended the Nationals’ lead to 5-0 and gave Parker plenty of cushion as he proceeded on the mound.

"Luckily, I was able to connect with that home run," García said, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "But I think any team can use a three-run home run at any time. ... The fact that you get an early lead, like in the first inning, definitely relaxes us offensively and as a team."

The lead was 6-0 by the time Parker took the mound for the top of the seventh, impressively the sixth time this season he’s done that. He would finally give up his first run via a leadoff bunt single by Ryan McMahon and an RBI double by Brendan Rodgers. But the rookie calmly retired the next three batters he faced and returned to the dugout, where teammates and coaches were waiting to dole out high-fives and congratulate him on another job well done.

"He needs to not think about what happened in the previous outing," Martinez said. "Focus on what he did today, and build from that. That's what we want him to understand. ... Let's focus on what you did today, and carry it over five or six days from now."