The Nationals signed Parra on Thursday, right before the start of this series in Los Angeles when their lineup had been so decimated by injuries and the roster so depleted that they seemed almost desperate for healthy bodies. Parra was coming off a miserable start offensively before being designated for assignment by the Giants. He cleared waivers and was a free agent at this time one week ago. But the Nats believed he still had something left to contribute as an outfielder and backup first baseman, where he started Saturday night for the first time in since 2017.<doc-sep>Once it landed, and the scoreboard ticked in Washington’s favor on Saturday night, a mosh of players waited for Parra at the bottom of the dugout steps. Then they smacked his helmet and his back and his side and finally let him go once his jersey was ruffled and a smile was stretched across his face. He had been their teammate for all of three days, signed to a one-year deal Thursday, and had just delivered the biggest hit of the season with two outs in the eighth.<doc-sep>Washington’s Nationals went 16 innings without a run between the ninth inning of the series opener on Thursday and the eighth inning of Saturday night’s game in LA, but they hit their way out of that slump with a five-run inning that decided the third game of the four with the Dodgers. Juan Soto returned. Gerardo Parra hit a grand slam. Go read your links... NATS BEAT: Parra's 1st hit with Nats a game-winning slam - (MLB.com) “'That was amazing,' left fielder Juan Soto said. 'I was on first, I just wanted to turn around and watch where the ball was gonna land.'" Wilmer Difo 1B Howie Kendrick ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Victor Robles BB Juan Soto RBI 1B GERARDO. PARRA. GRAND. SLAM.#ComebackSZN // #OnePursuit pic.twitter.com/Ff4tSCIAyN — Washington Nationals (@Nationals) May 12, 2019 New arrival Gerardo Parra’s grand slam lifts Nationals over Dodgers - (WaPost) "He had been their teammate for all of three days, signed to a one-year deal Thursday, and had just delivered the biggest hit of the season with two outs in the eighth." Parra pulls off dramatic grand slam for 5-2 comeback win in L.A. - (MASN) "Down in the late innings and a capacity crowd of 53,647 roaring, the Nationals pulled off one of their most dramatic comeback victories of the season thanks to their all everything super-utility signee from two days ago." Trevor Rosenthal makes rehab appearance with Harrisburg (Nats win 5-2) - (MASN) "At the Nationals extended spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., the former closer concentrated on getting his mechanics back on track after continued wildness in his appearances with the Nats to begin the season." Juan Soto returns to lineup, feels "really good right now" - (MASN) "Martinez said he did caution Soto to not overexert himself these first few days, and the club does not believe the back spasms will be an ongoing issue." #Nationals prospects with new scouting reports/content included: Israel Pineda, Tim Cate, Gilbert Lara, Joan Adon, Justin Connell, Chandler Day, Jake Irvin, KJ Harrison, Francys Peguero, others. #OnePursuit https://t.co/EqJR6o2juE — Adam McInturff (@2080adam) May 11, 2019 Juan Soto comes off injured list, pushing Nationals closer to full strength - (WaPost) "The Nationals again will have their preferred starters with Soto in left, Robles in center and Eaton in right, which is how they mostly aligned for the 28 games before Soto got hurt." Sean Doolittle adjusts to unique challenges of expanded role for Nationals - (WaPost) "Since joining the Nationals in 2017 in a midseason trade that also brought reliever Ryan Madson from the Oakland Athletics, Doolittle has been one of baseball’s more effective relievers, as long as he’s healthy." NATIONAL(S) BEAT: Gerardo Parra’s grand slam lifts Nationals to win over Dodgers – (Orange County Register) "The inning from hell found the Dodgers on Saturday night. It began innocently enough, with a tailor-made double play ground ball." Remember Clemson slugger Spencer Kieboom? His brother homered in his MLB debut - (postandcourier.com) "Remember Spencer Kieboom? He’s a Mount Pleasant native who played two years at Clemson before the Washington Nationals made him a fifth round pick in the 2012 draft." Rosecrans: Making it to Shed Long’s big-league debut totally worth it https://t.co/MoLJyYf1ml — C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) May 12, 2019 Daily fantasy notes -- Pitcher projections and hitter ratings for Sunday - (ESPN) "[Lucas] Giolito is showing signs of the promise anticipated when he was one of the top pitching prospects in the Nationals' system." Cleveland Indians promote A.J. Cole, option Cody Anderson to Triple-A - (cleveland.com) "The Indians purchased the contract of right-hander A.J. Cole from Columbus and added him to the 25-man roster."<doc-sep>Gerardo Parra was wearing a different uniform with a weird number at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. He wasn’t No. 8 for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies or San Francisco Giants, a trio of division rivals, anymore. He was No. 88 in red and navy, signed to the reeling Washington Nationals on Thursday to supplement a weakened roster. The switch did not change his treatment of the Dodgers. Designated for assignment by the Giants last week, Parra continued tormenting Los Angeles in his second game as a National, smashing a go-ahead, two-out grand slam off Dylan Floro in the eighth inning of the Dodgers’ 5-2 loss. Parra’s first hit as a National was, fittingly, his eighth career home run against the Dodgers. It’s the veteran outfielder’s most against any club over his 11-year career. The swat deflated an amped crowd begging for Floro to escape the predicament he was assigned to defuse. The right-hander, carrying a 0.00 earned-run average in 17⅓ innings, was summoned with the bases loaded and one out in an inning that had gone wrong after seven shutout frames by Walker Buehler. Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner had put the tying run on base, fielding a potential double-play ball and throwing it into right field, leaving runners at first and third with no outs. Advertisement “I went back and looked at it,” said Turner, who provided the Dodgers’ runs with a homer off Max Scherzer in the third inning. “My feet were under me, I was under control. It just sailed a little bit.” Juan Soto, the Nationals’ wunderkind playing his first game since coming off the injured list, smacked a line-drive single off Scott Alexander on the ninth pitch of the at-bat after fouling off six straight pitches. The hit sliced the Dodgers’ lead to one. Floro entered to face the dangerous Anthony Rendon. He got the right-handed slugger to strike out on the eighth pitch of the clash, a 94-mph sinker. He got to two strikes on Parra too, but left a center-cut fastball Parra didn’t miss. Suddenly, the Nationals led after not scoring over the previous 16 innings. Sign up for our Dodgers newsletter » “And as we know with Parra, he likes the fastball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And when you make a mistake he’s going to make you pay. Unfortunately, that’s what happened.” Just like that, Buehler’s effort in outdueling Scherzer was wasted. The young right-hander, facing a three-time Cy Young winner, was almost untouchable after an odd first inning. Nationals leadoff man Adam Eaton sparked the strangeness with an excuse-me, check-swing single to left. Victor Robles followed with a push bunt to second baseman Enrique Hernandez, who attempted to tag Eaton as he sprinted by but couldn’t reach and spun to make an off-balance throw to first. The ball bounced away from first baseman Max Muncy, Eaton advanced to third and Robles went to second on the error. Soto drew a walk to load the bases — for a split second. Then the Dodgers’ fortunes suddenly reversed. Inexplicably, Robles jogged halfway between second and third after ball four — perhaps thinking the bases already were loaded and the walk was pushing him to third. He realized his head-scratching gaffe too late. Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes fired a throw to second in time to pick off Robles and steal an out. Advertisement Buehler did the rest, getting Rendon to fly out and striking out Parra on a curveball in the dirt to wiggle free. After that, Buehler breezed, giving up two more hits and no more walks over seven innings. He retired 18 of his last 19 batters and the final 12. He struck out seven. He threw 97 pitches, incorporating the mechanical adjustments he’s implemented as he’s gradually improved with each start. “Here and there you find something, a different feel, a different mechanic, or something you’re not quite doing like last year,” Buehler said. “And I think the past few outings, I think I’ve gotten a little bit closer, and we’ll keep trying.” On the other side, bad luck, shabby defense and little run support have plagued Scherzer this season, and had left the Nationals 1-7 in his first eight starts. Advertisement His only trouble Saturday, however, was self induced. Scherzer retired the first two hitters in the third inning before Muncy fell behind 0-2 and fought back to work a walk. Turner capitalized on Muncy’s labor and crushed a fastball over the fence in center. It was Turner’s fifth home run in four games and sixth this season after not homering in his first 122 plate appearances. The tumult did not derail Scherzer. He powered through seven innings, pushing his pitch count to 115 — a total rarely reached in today’s age of coddled arms. He departed with the Dodgers holding a two-run lead that seemed so much bigger until it vanished with one swing from a familiar nemesis. jorge.castillo@latimes.com Twitter: @jorgecastillo<doc-sep>
Gerardo Parra went hitless in his debut with the Washington Nationals, after signing a one-year deal in advance of the four-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, with an 0 for 3 night at the plate leaving him with a .191/.277/.258 line overall on the year in 2019. He was 0 for 3 with a K in Saturday’s game as well before he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth inning in Dodger Stadium (where he had 14 doubles and six home runs in 262 career plate appearances before tonight) and hit a meaty 2-2 fastball from Dylan Floro out to center field for a grand slam that put the Nationals up 5-2. Not a bad way to collect your first hit with a new team. “I tried to hit the ball hard to the middle, and I got a good swing, I got a homer and so I’m happy for that,” Parra told MASN’s Alex Chappell after the win over the Dodgers. “You know what, he had a great at bat. They all did that inning. But to hit a home run right there was awesome,” Nats’ skipper Davey Martinez said after the come-from-behind win. What was the manager thinking as he watched Parra’s at bat play out? “Just hit the ball,” he said. “Just get a base hit. But slow-motion, in your mind, what a really beautiful swing and it was a great at bat.” Martinez put Parra at first base (his first start there since 2017) for the third of four with the Dodgers, and the decision to keep his bat in the lineup paid off. “That was awesome,” the manager said. “Like I said, he’s a veteran guy that we love to have, and what he can do, he plays all four outfield positions and obviously today he played first base and played it really well. He made two nice plays, one to end the game, a diving catch, but coming through in a big moment was huge.”