Before it could get any worse, and before anyone made a dash for the panic button, the Lancaster Barnstormers handed the ball to Zack Parker.
His task was clear: stop the slide.
The Barnstormers were mired in a seven-game losing streak that included one frustrating, late-inning defeat after another.
Parker is the staff ace. Aces are supposed to win games like this one.
The lefthander authored perhaps the best pitching performance in the four-year history of the Barnstormers Monday night. He tossed a two-hit shutout and retired the final 17 batters in a row in beating the Camden Riversharks 4-0 at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
It was …
"Huge," manager Von Hayes said. "That's what you expect from your ace on any team. To get out there when the team needs you the most and do what he did."
Not only had the Barnstormers gone more than a week without a win, they had burned out their bullpen in the process. There weren't many available arms if Parker struggled.
On the bus ride home from Southern Maryland Sunday, he sharpened his focus. He knew this wasn't a run-of-the-mill, early-season start.
"I was locked in for today," Parker said. "I kept going over it in my head, all the sequences, and just trying to get a game plan ready. We had to give all these guys a break."
Parker found himself in one jam the entire night. It came in the second inning. He made an error on a ground ball and allowed a hit and walk to load the bases with two outs. For a brief moment, his pinpoint control eluded him.
At an earlier stage in his career, this might have unnerved Parker. Not now. He stayed calm and worked his way out of trouble.
"I've felt pretty solid all year," he said. "Even in that inning with the bases loaded and a 3-1 count, there was no part of me that thought that run was going to score. I had to settle down, gather myself and slow my mind down."
Parker is evolving into one of the Atlantic League's great success stories. He came to Lancaster in July with his confidence shaken after struggling for two seasons in the Colorado Rockies system. His shoulder was slightly out of the socket and the injury wasn't immediately diagnosed properly. Until it was fixed, his mechanics were out of whack and his command suffered.
The 6-1, 180-pound Texas native was reborn here. He went 6-1 with a 2.49 ERA in 10 appearances for the Barnstormers last summer. This season he has been even better, posting a 0.86 ERA in 21 innings.
With a fastball that tops out at 89 mph and a deceptive cutter, Parker has dominated at this level. Hitters can't center that fastball, even though it's not overpowering.
"It has late movement," Hayes said. "That always spells trouble for hitters. I played with guys in the big leagues that threw a lot slower than he does. We're talking 82 mph. Shane Rawley pitched like that, breaking bats left and right. That's what (Parker) had tonight. He was reminiscent of that type of pitcher."
Parker's best pitch is the cutter. It darts away from left-handed batters and cuts in on righties. He broke his share of bats Monday night.
Catcher Lance Burkhart said the secret to the cutter is its unpredictability.
"I don't even know exactly where it's going to break every time," Burkhart said. "I have to really stay with it because it could be a slider, it could be a cutter or it could stay straight and drop. Those angles are tough to hit because you don't know what to expect."
There's a growing sense among those who have watched Parker that he's not long for independent ball. The lefty is just 26 and was a well-regarded prospect before his shoulder problems.
The Barnstormers will enjoy Parker as long as they have him and they'll appreciate this outing — which kept the season from slipping further off the rails.
"I kept telling myself last year that I've pitched the last year-and-a-half with a hurt arm," Parker said. "I was still effective at times. If I could ever get my arm healthy and just let it rip, I felt it would be something special."
It was Monday night.
Staff writer Jason Guarente can be reached at
jguarente@LNPnews.com or 291-8777.
