Nats can't back Parker's dazzling start in 11th consecutive loss

WASHINGTON -- A turnaround start by Mitchell Parker. Hard-hit balls that registered in the triple digits. And still, the final result was the Nationals’ 11th straight loss.

The Nationals fell, 3-1, to the Rockies on Wednesday at Nationals Park.

They tied the Athletics for the longest losing skid in the Major Leagues this season (May 14-24). The Nats (30-44) will look to avoid matching their longest streak in team history (2005-present) in the series finale on Thursday.

“They played their butts off today,” said manager Dave Martinez. “We don't have nothing to show for it, but man, they had good at-bats, they pitched well.”

Parker recorded a career-high-tying eight strikeouts in six innings. He fanned seven of his final nine batters. Parker allowed six hits and held the Rockies to one run (a sixth-inning homer to Michael Toglia) over 84 pitches.

It was a bounce back from giving up six runs in 3 1/3 innings in his last start on Friday against the Marlins.

“Mitchell Parker was -- that’s Mitchell Parker,” said Martinez. “When he came up, that’s what he did. He attacked the zone. When his breaking ball was good, he utilized it. But everything was down in the zone, and he attacked the zone really well. So that was great to see. That's a plus. If we keep him right there now every five days, it’ll be awesome.”

Parker entered the game with a 9.64 ERA in the first inning and had been frustrated by his opening-frame struggles. He pitched a scoreless first for the first time since May 20 against the Braves.

“Just not overthink it,” Parker said. “Trust that we put in a lot of work in between this start and the last one, trust the guys behind you and just do what we know we can do best.”

As the game went on, Parker committed to the success of his curveball. The pitch yielded 18 swings and eight whiffs.

“The execution was a lot better than it’s been,” Parker said. “We were able to get the swings and misses with it and get the soft contact. That was a big, big point for today.”

While Parker was attempting to fend off the Rockies’ offense, the Nationals’ bats ran into defensive roadblocks. The Nats hit seven balls over 100 mph -- yet they only got one run across the plate.

They notably loaded the bases with two outs in the third inning of a scoreless game. Brady House, playing in his third Major League game, rocketed a 101.3 mph line drive that had a 61 percent hit probability and looked like it could slice between third base and shortstop to drive in James Wood.

“I literally started fist pumping as soon as he hit [it] because I thought, ‘No way [that gets caught],’” said Martinez.

Instead, Orlando Arcia made a spectacular full-extension catch to rob the rookie of a momentum-shifting RBI.

“It was a little crushing, to be honest,” said House, ranked as the Nationals’ No. 3 prospect and MLB No. 90 overall. “I thought that I got the job done, especially with bases loaded and two outs. So it’s really upsetting that it didn’t happen.”

The Nationals out-hit the Rockies, 8-7, on what Martinez described as “crisp” at-bats. But they went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight runners on base.

“We really did play well. We hit the ball hard. … [The Rockies] were diving all over the field,” said Martinez. “I want these guys to understand, keep having at-bats like that, they’ll fall in.”