posted September 5, 2008
) Photo by Tim Evearitt (file photo) James Parr at AT&T Field. |
Parr pitched for the Mississippi Braves against the Chattanooga Lookouts at AT&T Field on May 16th.
Five days after ending an impressive August with Triple-A Richmond, Parr provided the Braves with just their second six-inning start in a span of the past 13 games.
Because the bullpen had posted a 7.88 ERA in the previous 15 games, there was no reason to celebrate until Mike Gonzalez successfully converted his 39th consecutive save opportunity in impressive fashion. After surrendering a leadoff double to Ryan Zimmerman, the left-handed closer ended the ninth inning with consecutive strikeouts of Lastings Milledge, Aaron Boone and Elijah Dukes.
Gonzalez's impressive finish combined with Kelly Johnson's two-hit night, which included a third-inning triple that led to the game's first run, allowed Parr to enjoy the impressive start to his career in front of his parents, who flew to Atlanta from Albuquerque, N.M.
"I didn't want to change anything," said Parr, who went 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA in his final three starts for Richmond. "I feel like I pitched the way I always have."
Parr's nerves led to him throwing 64 pitches through three innings and issuing consecutive third-inning walks to Willie Harris and Nationals starter Shairon Martis, who was also making his Major League debut.
After issuing the consecutive walks, Parr escaped the third inning by striking out Cristian Guzman and getting Zimmerman to ground out. The only hits he allowed came courtesy of Ronnie Belliard, who doubled with one out in the second inning and then singled in front of an inning-ending double play in the fourth inning.
While beating the Nationals for just the fifth time in 15 games this year, the Braves produced just enough offense and took advantage of the nerves shown by Martis, who issued five walks and allowed two runs in five innings.
Martis, who grew up with Braves right-hander Jair Jurrjens in Curacao, walked three of the first four batters that he faced in the fourth inning, including Parr. Gregor Blanco followed with an RBI groundout to increase the lead Atlanta gained when Johnson tripled and scored on a Brian McCann third-inning sacrifice fly.
Parr, who joins Charlie Morton as the current Braves pitchers who won their Major League debuts this season, went 13-7 with a a 3.52 ERA in 28 combined appearances with Double-A Mississippi and Richmond this year.
Not blessed with overpowering stuff, Parr impressed Cox with an ability to consistently fool the Nationals with a fastball that didn't exceed 89 mph. The veteran skipper said that his new pitcher was "sneaky quick" and likened him to Chuck James, who proved effective until left shoulder problems began bothering him midway through the 2007 season.
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Adapted from MLB.com
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