Punchless Nats fall 1-0 in 10 innings to Royals (updated)

Neither the Nationals nor the Royals have been able to score runs with any regularity down the stretch of the season, so maybe it was appropriate tonight’s interleague series opener between the two was scoreless into the ninth inning.

The only difference: One of these teams is fighting for its life to secure an unlikely postseason berth, while the other is playing out the string for the fifth straight year.

And at night’s end, the Royals managed to keep their hopes alive with a 1-0, 10-inning victory made possible only because of a Nationals error.

Nasim Nuñez’s low throw to first allowed automatic runner Kyle Isbel to score from second to finally break the scoreless deadlock. And when the Nats couldn’t get their automatic runner home in the bottom of the inning, they were left to stew over their 17th shutout loss of the season.

"It all came down to one play. And execution, not being able to hit the ball," manager Davey Martinez said. "It's kind of been a common theme these last few weeks."

The Nats entered this one averaging only 3.05 runs per game in September and having been shut out or held to one run in five of their previous seven games. On the bright side, the Royals entered having scored only 2.9 runs per game this month, a primary reason for the seven-game losing streak they brought with them to D.C.

And the Nationals pitching staff took full advantage, getting five scoreless innings from Mitchell Parker, then two apiece from Derek Law and Jose A. Ferrer to give their teammates a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth.

Alas, they could not plate a run of their own, so this one went to extras, with the automatic runner theoretically helping make life a bit easier for both woeful lineups.

It did help Kansas City, because if not for Isbel’s presence at second base to open the top of the 10th, nobody would’ve scored on Bobby Witt Jr.’s soft chopper to short. Nuñez, who has essentially taken over as the starting shortstop following CJ Abrams’ surprise demotion, charged in to field the ball and then made an off-balance throw to first. It skipped and got past Juan Yepez, who couldn’t get a handle on it or recover in time to even have a play at the plate before Isbel scampered home with the night’s first run.

"Bobby's pretty fast. I saw it was a slow chopper, so I went to go get it with everything I had, and I couldn't get it out of my glove," Nuñez said. "I tried to get a one-hop over there, and that's just what happened."

A nice play by Ildemaro Vargas on a sharp grounder down the third base line kept the Royals from adding an insurance run or two, but the Nationals still needed to find a way to score themselves in the bottom of the 10th to either extend or win the game.

They did not. Jacob Young struck out, Vargas grounded out and pinch-hitter Joey Gallo (after narrowly missing what would've been a game-winning homer by a few feet foul down the right field line) struck out to end the game.

"Look, they're all trying to finish up the season strong," Martinez said. "They're trying really hard, I know that. It's just a combination of being young and really trying to do too much. What we're asking them to do is stay in the middle of the field and, honestly, just try to hit doubles. It just hasn't happened."

When he was called up to make his major league debut five months ago, Parker wasn’t guaranteed anything more than one fill-in start in place of the just-injured Josiah Gray. Then the young lefty turned heads with a surprisingly effective outing at Dodger Stadium, becoming the franchise’s first rookie starter to win his debut since Stephen Strasburg in 2010.

The road was a bit bumpy at times, but Parker never gave up his spot in the rotation. He never allowed more than three earned runs until his 13th career start. He consistently maintained an ERA in the 3.00s and low-4.00s. And he made it through 29 major league starts healthy, no small accomplishment.

"It's definitely going to be feeling good going into the offseason," he said. "I learned a lot about what we're going to have to work on to come into next year even stronger, even better."

Parker’s 29th and final outing was one of his most effective, even if it was far from his most efficient. He allowed seven Royals batters to reach base in his five innings, and he needed 91 pitches to do it. But he did not allow anyone to cross the plate, thanks to some big pitches in big moments, not to mention some stellar defense (even from himself).

Despite loading the bases with nobody out in the top of the first, Parker wriggled his way out of the jam with a line drive, 6-4 double play, and then his own behind-the-back snag of a sharp comebacker for the third out. It was by far the best play in the field of the season by a pitcher who was charged with five errors in his first 12 defensive chances, and it came at a most opportune moment.

When's the last time he made a play like that?

"A long time ago," he laughed. "High school."

Parker also loaded the bases in the top of the third. This time, he escaped with a nice defensive play by José Tena, who has looked far more comfortable at second base than he has at third base.

The high pitch count forced him from the game earlier than preferred, but with a zero on the board, it was hard to find too much fault with the performance.

And so Parker’s rookie season came to an end with a no-decision, his record stuck on 7-10 but his ERA down to 4.29 and his WHIP to 1.305 across 151 innings.

"To be able to get that many innings this year is awesome," he said. "Like we said when I got here, I just wanted to make every start I can and stay healthy, get as many innings as possible. So being able to do it is huge."

Parker received no decision because his teammates couldn’t scratch across even one run against Cole Ragans. They threatened even less against the Royals lefty than the opposition did against Parker, amassing only three hits and three walks during his six innings on the mound.

"Some days, some pitchers look like they're throwing Tic Tacs to the plate," Nuñez said. "And some days, they look like they're throwing beach balls. He just had a day."

There were some hard-hit balls with runners on base, though. Nuñez scorched a ball 102 mph to center field with two outs and a runner in scoring position in the second, only to have it caught. Luis García Jr. ripped a drive to the wall in left field in the fourth but was robbed by a leaping Tommy Pham.

The Nats had another chance against Kansas City reliever Kris Bubic in the seventh when Jacob Young blooped a one-out double into shallow center field. But Ildemaro Vargas (pinch-hitting for Trey Lipscomb) grounded out and Nuñez popped out to end that threat and leave the team 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

"There's a lot of guys underneath the baseball right now, and they're getting long," Martinez said of the state of his players' swings. "They've got to shorten up and be ready to hit the fastball. We had a few guys that had good swings today, but not many."