Mitchell Parker of Texas:
Mitchell Parker faced some adversity in his third start in the majors, but he handled it well.
Parker allowed a leadoff single and a walk with one out and the bases loaded in the first inning of a road trip in Miami last weekend, and then allowed a run on a wild pitch.
After struggling with batters in the minors due to walks, he was loaded with the bases on the second walk, his first two walks in the majors, but he struck out No. 3 and held the opponent to one run in four innings. A long throw of 82 pitches.
“He struggled a little bit,” Nationals manager Davey Martinez admitted after the game started. “…But he remained calm.
“He had some big impact situations through the first few innings. And he got out of it. So it’s good to see him manage to get through even when he didn’t feel that great today. Thing.
“He kept us in the ball game, which is great.”
“You’re not going to get everything every day,” Parker said. Quoted by MASN’s Bobby Blanco.
“So we just competed and kept it as close as we could. It was a good game that held us back and gave us the best chance to win. We got a good win.
“Thanks to our offense, we were able to get a little bit there, so it was really good.”
Parker played against the Rangers in the final game of the series in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday afternoon, and after leading 1-2-3, he was in trouble in the second inning with one out, a single, a walk, and a two-out RBI double. I started running.
Joey Meneses Misplay (deflected) In his next at-bat, he grounded out to first base, allowing the second run and extending the inning, followed by an RBI single to put the Rangers up 3-0.
Parker stayed there until the fifth inning, got one out in the sixth (after allowing a lead-off single and a walk), and the runners he left behind were stranded.
“I thought that kid pitched really well. He kept us in the ball game,” Martinez said of the Nats’ offense against right-hander Nathan Eovaldi and the Rangers’ relievers. He spoke after the game, where he could do little and lost 7-1.
“I thought the game should have been 1-0 until the end,” Martinez said, noting that the goal and the goal after Meneses’ misplay probably shouldn’t have been reversed.
“Yeah, I think I should have made that play. I mean, I got hit hard, but I might have been close — but outside of that inning. [Parker] He threw the ball really well. ”
“It could have gone better,” Parker said. Quoted by Mark Zuckerman of MASN After the match:
“I wasn’t pitching when I really needed to. I was leaving a lot in the zone, allowing more hits, more contact, more runs than we expected.”
In the end, of course, the Nationals scored a total of two points in the series (Won 1-0 after losing 7-1 in the series opener) dropped two out of three hits and was unable to swing the bat in the final inning.
“We need to start hitting the ball up the middle,” Martinez said. “If our lineup is going to start trickling down, we’ve got to start doing something too. Guys can’t get on base and put together three or four hits, so we had to go. But other than that, it was a good trip, it really was. Let’s go home now and try to win 1-0 tomorrow.”
March/April Lizzo:
Washington Nationals manager Davey Martinez spoke after the series-opening loss in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday night as his club finished 14-15 through the first month of the 24-year season. Ta.
“Looking back, there are some games we could have won. We could have been over .500, right?” Martinez asked rhetorically. “But overall, we’ve been playing good baseball, we’ve been playing hard, our pitchers have done a good job. The bullpen has been pretty good, except for today, so we’ve got to keep going.” It’s April, and I’m happy to win a game in April.
“It’s finally May. I break down the season into pieces and always say to myself, “Winning 15 games in a month is pretty good.” So let’s win 16 games next month. ”
Martinez’s boss, general manager and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo, told Audacity’s The Sports Junkies on Wednesday morning that he has been impressed with the job the Nats captain has done in his seventh season off the bench. Told.
“I thought April ended on a strong note,” Rizzo said. “We went on a long 10-day road trip and had a pretty good record, 5-4, and then took two of the three games from Houston before facing the Dodgers, a club that was hot at the time. Ta.”
“I like the way April ended,” he added. “I think we carried that momentum into May and are playing some pretty good baseball.
“We played fast and made some mistakes at a young age, but overall I think we like the trajectory we’re going in.”
He said Coach Martinez and his staff are trying to play to the strengths of their players and get the most out of the players on the roster.
Especially when it comes to the running game.
“Davie has given them an offensive mindset,” Rizzo said. “I give him and Gerardo Parra a lot of credit, but he was our base running coach and the guy who instilled in us that aggressive nature. Even now, we still sometimes run out innings and I don’t think it’s smart. Sometimes they try to do things they don’t, but I like that idea. They’re really aggressive. Give credit to Darnell Coles, too. They can’t steal first base, so they get on base at a rate they can. We have a pretty fast lineup with four or five guys who can steal bases, and I think Davey uses that aspect of our strength to his advantage.”
Asked on Wednesday about his goals for the club in May, Martinez predictably replied:
“Just keep going 1-0 every day, okay? I’m not thinking too far ahead,” he said. “We’re focused on the now, so let’s get off to a good start today and keep going. I think we played well in April and I think we can get even better. So we’re going to keep moving forward and keep pushing.” I’m going to keep going and continue the style I’ve been playing.”