On the heels of back-to-back starts that seemingly were lost in the opening frame, Mitchell Parker took the mound tonight desperate to reverse the trend.

“That first inning is going to be key,” manager Davey Martinez said roughly three hours before first pitch. “We talked a lot this week about not overthinking things, just sticking to his mechanics and staying on top of the baseball and throwing downhill.”

Parker proceeded to walk the game’s first two batters, each of them eventually coming around to score during another laborious first inning that left the Nationals trailing yet again. And because the left-hander couldn’t right his wayward ship, and because Erick Fedde pitched like he hardly ever did in six seasons in D.C., tonight’s 10-0 loss to the Cardinals turned into the team’s most depressing of 2025. One that led to the release of another struggling reliever.

With Parker pitching like Fedde circa 2022, and with Fedde pitching like Doug Fister circa 2014, this game was never in doubt. The Nationals trailed throughout and never threatened to rally against Fedde, who went on to toss the first shutout of his career, the final nail in the coffin.

"This one wasn't good," Martinez said. "I'm sitting here trying to figure out what went on. Mitchell, early on, struggled. Walks. Fell behind. Our offense just couldn't get it going. We came in after a day off. We were playing well. I'm just going to try to really forget about this one."

It all went down on an unseasonably chilly, 59-degree May evening on South Capitol Street, where the home team hoped its starting pitcher would bounce back from those two recent duds and look more like the guy who prior to that sported a 1.39 ERA and major league-leading 1.6 bWAR.

Parker’s issues his last two outings boiled down to a complete lack of command from the outset; he issued six total walks in the first inning, five of those baserunners coming around to score. Hence the emphasis tonight on a better opening act.

Imagine, then, the disheartening feeling in the dugout when Parker walked leadoff hitter Lars Nootbaar on four pitches to begin the game, then Masyn Winn on five pitches moments later to earn an immediate mound visit from pitching coach Jim Hickey.

Parker would find the strike zone after that, but he wouldn’t miss many bats. William Contreras’ one-out double to left brought both Nootbaar and Winn home and gave the Cardinals a quick 2-0 lead.

"Obviously, the last couple first innings haven't gone to plan," Parker said. "So when it gets going like that, I'm just trying to not let it snowball. Trying to keep it in as much control as we can."

He never really found a way to settle in. Parker gave up another run in the third, aided in part by James Wood’s inability to catch a fly ball down the line that carried only a .220 expected batting average. He gave up another run in the fourth on another double, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly. And with his pitch count already a sky-high 96, that was it for the lefty.

Parker’s ERA, among the league’s lowest just a couple weeks ago, is now 3.97.

"I'm trying to not let this carry over into the next one," he said. "That was the approach for this one: Don't let the last one carry over. Keep trying to build a new game plan."

It would’ve been tough enough to watch tonight against any opponent. It was especially tough to watch because the opponent was someone who used to pitch like that when he was a member of the Nationals rotation but has now resurrected his career elsewhere.

In 45 career starts at Nationals Park from 2017-22, Fedde completed seven scoreless innings only once: June 18, 2021 against the Mets, when he needed 100 pitches. Tonight, he did it on 80 pitches, giving him the opportunity to keep on going.

Fedde never broke a sweat. He allowed a leadoff double to CJ Abrams in the first, the only runner in scoring position he had to deal with all night, then retired the next three batters on eight pitches. He retired the side in the second. He allowed an infield single to Abrams in the third, then three more singles the rest of the way. He did not walk a batter. He kept his pitch count to a bare minimum.

And so for only the third time in his career, Fedde reached the eighth inning (none of them as a member of the Nats). And when he completed that frame with his pitch count still only 92, he was given the opportunity to take the mound for the ninth inning for only the second time ever and completed it for the first time ever.

"It's special, for sure. One that you envision for years when you're playing here," he said. "And then to eventually do it on the field as an opponent, it's pretty crazy. I was just happy I was able to complete it." 

The game was already well out of hand by the time Lucas Sims took the mound for the Nationals in the top of the eighth. It was a perfect opportunity for the struggling reliever to get some work in and try to get himself on track.

How did Sims do in that situation? He plunked the first batter he faced (his seventh hit-by-pitch out of 65 batters faced to that point this season, a ridiculous rate of 10.7 percent). He then issued four walks, a run-scoring wild pitch and an RBI single, mercifully pulled after 32 pitches, only 12 of which were strikes.

Mike Rizzo finally gave up on Colin Poche last week when the latter’s ERA reached 11.42 in 13 games. With Sims’ ERA up to 13.86 in 18 games, the general manager decided it was time to make a comparable transaction: The Nationals requested unconditional release waivers on the right-hander, who had a guaranteed $3 million contract, after the game. They'll make a corresponding roster move Saturday.

"He gets it. He understands. He didn't throw strikes," Martinez said. "It's hard when you've got to release a guy. Unbelievable person. Hard worker. It just didn't work out."