Parker labors again as Nats lose to Padres again (updated)

As much as young starting pitching carried the Nationals through the first half of the season, everyone involved has known all along there were no guarantees that group of unproven arms would continue to perform at such a high level through the second half of the season.

This is especially true for the least-experienced members of the group: Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz, neither of whom opened the year in the big leagues but quickly burst onto the scene to make names for themselves.

Upon seeing Herz begin to struggle earlier this month, the Nats decided to demote him to Triple-A and give him an extended All-Star break to rest his arm and mind. He returned Tuesday night and impressed over five innings against the Padres.

The club might be tempted to do something similar with Parker after he got ransacked tonight by San Diego during an ugly, 12-3 loss that ended with utilityman Ildemaro Vargas firing up a crowd of 23,323 with a scoreless top of the ninth featuring a plethora of eephus pitches.

The Nationals are now 0-5 against the Padres this season, 47-50 against everyone else.

"They're a really good team; it starts there," designated hitter Jesse Winker said. "We've played them tough. Outside of today, I feel like we've been in every game. It's just a good team. Sometimes you've got to tip your hat. They did everything tonight."

For the second time in as many starts, Parker couldn’t get through the early innings without giving up a bunch of runs and throwing a bunch of pitches. This wasn’t as bad as his July 13 outing in Milwaukee, when he was pulled after 46 pitches and only two outs recorded, but it wasn’t appreciably better.

The Nationals actually gave him a quick 3-0 lead with a big bottom of the first against Padres starter Matt Waldron, capped off by Juan Yepez’s two-run homer to give him at least one hit in all 15 games the first baseman has played since his promotion from Rochester.

And then Parker gave it all back and more within a matter of minutes. During a painful top of the second, he faced eight batters, four of them scoring, all with two outs. One pitch away from ending the inning, he served up a two-run single to Luis Arraez, then a two-run homer to Jurickson Profar (his third homer in five games against the Nats).

"It sucks," Parker said. "It's not the game plan, not how we envisioned it going. It definitely wasn't. It just sucks."

His pitch count already at 59 after two laborious innings, Parker returned to the mound for the third, hoping for better results. He proceeded to give up two more runs on two more hits and a walk, plus a successful safety squeeze. And by the time that inning was over, his pitch count up to 79, his night was finally over.

One month ago, Parker was one of the darlings of the Nationals’ improving pitching staff, owner of a 3.06 ERA and zero starts in which he had been charged with more than three earned runs. In six starts since, the script has flipped: Parker has been charged with 23 earned runs and put 42 runners on base in only 27 2/3 innings. His ERA has jumped to 4.34.

"With the extra rest (around the All-Star break), everything felt good," he said. "That's why it's extra frustrating. I was hoping to go out there and eat up a couple innings for us and keep us in the ballgame. That's not how it worked out."

It would be easier for the Nationals to give Parker a break if they had viable replacements ready to go. But Josiah Gray is out for the rest of this season and most of 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure earlier today. Cade Cavalli, who had Tommy John surgery in March 2023, is about to start over his rehab program after a recent setback. Trevor Williams is about to begin throwing off a bullpen mound for the first time since landing on the injured list with a flexor muscle strain June 1.

"These kids got us this far," manager Davey Martinez said. "They've pitched really well. There's still another half of the season they've got to try to finish up."

To be honest, the Nats may have more pressing roster moves in the next 12 hours after watching Jordan Weems get roughed up again. Summoned to replace Parker in the top of the fourth, the beleaguered reliever proceeded to give up five runs on six hits in the inning, throwing 30 pitches and getting pulled after that.

Weems now sports a 6.59 ERA and 1.683 WHIP in 40 appearances this season. Because he’s out of options, the Nationals have stuck with the 31-year-old throughout his struggles. At some point, they have no choice but to take a chance they lose him on waivers and bring up someone else who can more consistently provide them quality innings out of the bullpen.

"I think he's throwing the ball better than I've seen him in a while," Martinez said. "Today was just all about location. His misses were pretty much right down the middle. And when he missed, it was not even close. We've got to get him to understand: You can throw hard, but you've still got to make good pitches."

Especially when their starters are now struggling to provide more than three innings at a time.

"I'm a little concerned because of our bullpen," Martinez said. "Our bullpen's starting to get a little taxed. We don't want that."