Washington Nationals news & notes: Mitchell Parker not happy with outing; Nats lose to the Padres again, 12-3…

Pitching issues:

Mitchell Parker’s final start before the All-Star break was something of a disaster. ²⁄₃ The 24-year-old left-hander allowed three hits, two walks and five earned runs in the inning.

Parker threw 47 pitches, 28 of which were strikes, before manager Davey Martinez called the game off for Parker’s 17th start of the year.

“It was a pitch count issue,” Martinez told reporters after the team made a pitcher change and rallied from a 5-0 deficit to win. “And, uncharacteristically, he just wasn’t stepping up to the plate like he normally does. A lot of balls, a lot of foul balls, I didn’t think things were going to get better today. I just wanted to get him out, let him rest, give him the All-Star break, reset, get him going.”

“Everything went well for me today,” Parker said. Quote from MASN’s Mark Zuckerman.

“It was one of those days where everything just didn’t go my way and I got punished for it and didn’t get out of the first round. It’s disappointing, but I’ll learn a lot from this experience.”

Parker’s captain had some ideas about where to start to solve what happened to Parker.

“We’ll take a look at it, and it looked like his arm was a little low,” Martinez said, “… It felt like he was pushing everything up. So we’ll take a look at everything and see where he is, but after 40-plus pitches, we figured he’d get a little tired so we decided to take him down there.”

Parker took the mound last night in the nation’s capital, trying to bounce back from that loss, and gave up seven hits, three walks and six earned runs in just three innings, but he struck out the starting rotation with five strikes, 13 strikes and seven fastballs out of 49 strikes thrown in 77 pitches, and Padres batters fouled off 20 of the 77 pitches in the final game as the home team lost 12-3.

“Mitchell has been able to get guys out when he gets first run,” Martinez said after the team’s second straight loss to San Diego. “When he didn’t get first run, we had everybody on base. So we’ve got to keep him getting first run. His pitching motion looked a little bit off, so we’ll talk to him in the next few days.”

“He played well when we were leading,” the manager reiterated in his post-match press conference, “and when we were losing, he didn’t know how to get out of there. So, let’s go back and talk to him and see if we can get him right.”

As for Parker’s own thoughts on the outing?

“It’s the worst,” he said. Quote from MASN’s Mark Zuckerman“This was not the game plan, this is not how we envisioned it going to play out. It certainly wasn’t. It’s just disappointing.”

Caleb Lomativa from DC:

“Romo is itching,” Nationals 2024 draft pick Caleb Lomavita said Wednesday during his introductory press conference in Washington, D.C., about the fact that he’s in the midst of his longest hiatus from baseball in years, before making a momentary disrespectful remark.

Loma Vita, 21, said, “…batting .322 with 13 doubles, one triple, 15 home runs and 52 RBI.”[s]He played in 55 games for the University of California, Berkeley, walking 12, stealing 12 bases and scoring 51 runs.

“He had a .395 on-base percentage. [and a] “In a press release about the 39th overall draft pick they acquired from Kansas City in the Hunter Harvey trade the day before the draft, the Nationals noted that the player had a .586 slugging percentage and was one of eight catchers in NCAA Division I history with 10 or more stolen bases and 10 or more home runs.”

“We’re pleased to have a player of Roma’s caliber of talent with our pick,” Danny Haas, vice president of amateur scouting, said after his first draft as Nationals manager.

“It’s been fun watching him play since he was in high school,” Haas said Wednesday. “He’s always got a lot of energy. Someone told me the other day, ‘Warrior.’ He’s blessed with athleticism. Obviously, he’s very strong. But his running ability is phenomenal. He’s got a strong arm. He’s always ready to play. … He has just about everything we look for in a catcher.”

The fact that they acquired the catcher with the 39th pick the day after selecting him certainly caught the attention of the No. 2 draft pick.

“I’m a faith-based person, and I feel like God put me in the perfect position and everything is going to work out exactly the way it needs to,” Lomavita said about joining the Nationals.

“I’m already looking forward to taking the field,” he added. “I’m happy to be with such a great team and organization.”

“He’s got a lot of energy,” Nationals captain Davey Martinez said before last night’s game. “I can’t wait to see him hit. Just a good kid. I know he was one of the guys we were really looking at, and the surprise was … we were able to get him at the time.”

“The process begins now,” said GM and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo, seated at the press conference podium, “and his promotion to the major leagues begins tomorrow.”

“He’ll be an immediate hit. We’re sending him to West Palm.” [Beach, FL]He has his feet on the ground and we’re going to build on that foundation the right way.”

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