News
Parra gets rocked at Coors Field
Short outing contributes -- with short offense -- to defeat
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
10/01/09 8:37 PM EST
DENVER -- Brewers pitchers did little to prevent the Rockies from punching their ticket to the postseason. Manny Parra needed 91 pitches to record eight outs and issued two of the Brewers' three bases-loaded walks as Colorado sent Milwaukee to a 9-2 loss on Thursday and finished a three-game sweep. The Rockies clinched at least the National League Wild Card, and still could win the NL West if they sweep the Dodgers in the final series of the season. The Rockies' win eliminated the Braves from postseason contention. "We didn't do anybody any help here, the Dodgers or the Braves," Brewers manager Ken Macha said. The Brewers, last year's NL Wild Card holder, will have little to play for this weekend in St. Louis. With Thursday's loss, they fell to 77-82 and guaranteed a losing season. After Rockies reliever Franklin Morales struck out Alcides Escobar to end the game, Brewers slugger Prince Fielder sat on the dugout and watched the Rockies celebrate. It was 369 days since Fielder and the Brewers celebrated their own clinch last season. "I didn't mind watching," Fielder said. "It reminds you of what you're missing." Parra saw the final out from the clubhouse. He immediately turned the television off. "That's the last thing I want to watch," he said. The Brewers aren't the first team to follow a playoff appearance with a losing season. Since the Wild Card era began in 1995, 21 teams have endured such a slip, plus two more -- the 2008 Indians and the 1996 Reds -- who came close but finished 81-81. Three of those 21 teams had a fall more devastating than Milwaukee's. The 1998 Marlins, the 2003 Angels and the 2007 Cardinals followed World Series championships with losing seasons. Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio watched the final innings in frustration and vowed offseason changes. Among the team's pressing question marks is Parra, a 26-year-old with loads of talent who has been slow to put it to consistent use. That was the case again on Thursday, when Parra (11-11) recorded five of his eight outs via strikeouts but also walked five -- one was intentional -- and surrendered five runs. "That's a mystery to me," Macha said. "It was really frustrating from my side -- five walks and five strikeouts. Not a good day for him." Rockies starter Aaron Cook had no such trouble, holding the Brewers to Ryan Braun's solo home run and three other hits in eight good innings. He also worked a pair of bases-loaded walks to aid his cause. "He was a strike-throwing machine," Macha said. In other words, Cook was what Parra was not. Parra threw 47 of his 91 pitches -- 52 percent -- out of the strike zone, and his pitch count skyrocketed early, illustrasting his command issues. He struck out the first two hitters he faced, but then needed 20 more pitches to get out of the first inning. He retired the first two hitters in the second inning but then walked Cook, who entered the afternoon with a .116 batting average. In the third, the first five Rockies hitters reached and a pair of runs scored before Parra moved to the brink of escape by striking out Brad Hawpe and Clint Barmes. That brought Cook back to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. Parra fell behind, 3-0, then worked the count full before walking in a run. Parra threw a first-pitch strike to the next hitter, Dexter Fowler, but walked him, too. "It drove me nuts," Parra said. "I was able to get two strikes on [Cook] and I knew all I had to do was throw something in the zone or even close to the zone. It just shows you how bad my command was at that point." Reliever John Axford committed the same crime the sixth, when Cook again batted with two outs and the bases loaded. Axford walked him on four straight pitches. "I can't explain that at all," Macha said. "We went 3-and-0 on him in the [third inning] and Axford went 3-and-0 on him, too." Macha was hoping that one more quality start would send Parra into the offseason feeling good. Instead, the lefty put together his worst outing since the one that sent him to the Minor Leagues in June. It was an about-face from his outing on Friday against the Phillies, when Parra walked only one batter and allowed one run in seven solid innings. Parra finished the year with a 6.36 ERA, worst in the Majors for a pitcher with at least 120 innings. "I have games like the last game [against the Phillies] when I'm able to stick to the plan and execute," Parra said "Today, I was trying to stick to the plan, but I just wasn't able to accomplish what I wanted to do. "I just have to forget about it. I know I have the ability. It comes down to fastball command. That's what it's all about. I understand that and know that's what I have to work on."Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
