Mitchell Parker’s final pre-All-Star break start was something of a disaster, an abbreviated 2⁄3 of an inning outing in which the 24-year-old left-hander gave up three hits, two walks, and a total of five earned runs.
Parker got up to 47 pitches, 28 of them strikes, before his manager, Davey Martinez pulled the plug on the 17th start of the year by the rookie.
“It was the pitch count,” Martinez told reporters after the club picked their pitcher up and rallied from an 5-0 deficit for a win. “And — uncharacteristic to him, he wasn’t around the plate like he normally is.