Parkinson spins gem in FSL debut

In his first full professional season, David Parkinson quickly established himself as one of the top starting pitchers in the South Atlantic League. In his Florida State League debut, however, he was tasked with coming out of the bullpen. 
"It was definitely a little bit different," he said. "I had a plan of when to start stretching, when to start throwing and all that stuff. But the first inning went by kind of quick, so I had to get going. But I got all my warmups in and I was good to go."
The Phillies' 20th-ranked prospect was up to the challenge, yielding two hits and two walks over seven scoreless innings on Saturday as Class A Advanced Clearwater blanked Bradenton, 1-0, at LECOM Park. 

Gameday box score
With eight appearances out of the bullpen last summer with Class A Short Season Williamsport, Parkinson said he was prepared for the relieving aspect of Saturday night. The situation proved a little more unique, especially considering none of his relief outings last year lasted longer than three innings. 
"The biggest thing was that I didn't change what I've been doing," he said. "One thing my pitching coach in Lakewood, Brad Bergesen, said to me was just that when people move up they try to change with the level versus staying within themselves. One of the things I tried to focus on tonight was sticking with what I've been doing back in [Class A] Lakewood."
Just about everything was working in Lakewood, as Parkinson dominated in the Sally League with the circuit's best ERA (1.51) and fifth-best WHIP (1.05) in 17 starts. During a five-start stretch from May 21-June 17, he did not allow an earned run.
Using his three-pitch mix effectively to keep opponents guessing, Parkinson earned two Pitcher of the Week nods.
"I think it was all of my pitches and being able to use them in any count," he said. "That's one thing I pride myself on, even if I'm behind 2-0 in the count, being able to drop in a curveball or throw a changeup and still get some bad swings on that. I think that's why I'm successful. None of my stuff jumps off the radar by any means or anything like that, so I just have to be smart."
Following two hitless innings from rehabbing Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff, the left-hander threw 56 of 75 pitches for strikes. Parkinson (1-0) was perfect in four frames and allowed only two runners to reach scoring position in his first appearance out of the bullpen since Aug. 13 with Williamsport. 
In a new environment, Parkinson said having a former University of Mississippi teammate in catcher Henri Lartigue made the transition to Clearwater -- at least for one night -- a little easier. 
"[Lartigue] has been up here and he's been catching these guys," Parkinson said. "I trust him, he knows what I have, he knows what I can work with. ... It was awesome, takes me a little bit back to college, so it was pretty cool. But it was cool having him back there, just moreso having someone back there who knows me."
One of those runners was the first batter he faced in the third inning, Jason Delay, who walked on seven pitches and advanced to second on Casey Hughston's sacrifice. Unfazed, Parkinson whiffed Jared Oliva on three pitches. That first walk turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Parkinson detected out a slight mechanical flaw in his delivery. 
"I felt myself jumping out a little bit," he said. "It's one of those things that [Bergesen] was big with me on was just staying over my backside as long as I possibly can. And when I try to almost overshoot things I have a tendency to jump. It's kind of about being fluid with everything and feeling my arm drop and pick up and just in a fluid motion. ... I started to get back to that."
Delay reached again on a two-out single in the fifth but got no further as the 2017 12th-round pick settled into a groove and retired the next 11 hitters. 

The Marauders put the pressure on with one out in the ninth when Oliva singled and reached second on a passed ball. After getting to a 3-2 count, Adrian Valerio walked. With runners on first and second, Threshers manager Shawn Williams jogged to the mound and held court with Parkinson and the infielders. With first base open, the free pass put the potential winning run on base, but it also gave Clearwater an easier path to escape the jam.
"[Williams and I] were kind of on the same page," Parkinson said. "It's not like we were pitching around someone, it's just not giving [Valerio] a pitch to hit in that situation with a runner at second. After that, the [middle infielders] were pinching up the middle to get two."
On the next pitch, Parkinson snapped off a curveball to get Albert Baur to bounce into a game-ending double play. Although this outing came in relief, it matched the 22-year-old's longest of the year. 
Rehabbing Phils shortstop J.P. Crawford scored the game's lone run in the seventh inning on Kyle Martin's sacrifice fly.