WASHINGTON, DC-Pitching for the Texas Rangers this season after signing a one-year deal for $1.1 million, Patrick Corbin has returned to form after a few difficult seasons with the Nationals where his ERA ballooned and he routinely had trouble finding the strike zone. He was a valuable addition to the 2019 World Series team, but for most of his career with the Nats his six-year, $140 million contract seemed like an albatross with its expectations weighing him down.
Last night marked his return to DC, pitching on the mound at Nats Park in Rangers gray and blue, and facing many former teams he helped mentor. Before a crowd of 27, 160, he put on a show, his off-speed pitch induced Nats hitters into ground balls, and his outfield was on its toes. Of the 29 batters, he faced in eight innings, 22 first pitches were called strikes by home plate umpire Sean Barber.
He gave up just two runs on five hits, but it was enough to give the Nats their 30th win of the year. The first run came in the second when Nathaniel Lowe singled to left, followed by Alex Call, who hit a single to right. Riley Adams flied out moving Lowe to third. Then Robert Hassell III, the sensation who has replaced the injured Dylan Crews in right field, grounded out to second but picked up his seventh RBI when Lowe scored.
Corbin settled in until the seventh when he faced Call. The designated hitter, who usually played in the outfield, demonstrated his power, +smacking a 407-foot home run to left center on that famous Corbin slider.
Michael Soroka, a new acquisition for the Nats who spent some time on the injury list until recently, has a 3-3 record but has picked up three wins in his last four starts. He flummoxed the Rangers’ lineup, giving up just two hits on 85 pitches. In six innings, he struck out seven, walking one. He was hitless threw five innings and sat down eight straight batters.
Thanks to this gem of a start, Davey Martinez could rely on his most dependable arms in a young bullpen. Kyle Finnegan notched his 18th save of the season, increasing the likelihood he will be named to the All-Star team.
On Soroka’s start, Martinez complemented his fastball and curve. “He pounded the strike zone. He was very effective.” Starts like this turn into quick games, and this one lasted an hour and 50 minutes. It went so fast that the Soroka admitted when he went out for the fifth, he believed he was in the third.
With the win, the Nats sit in third place in the NL-East and are three games under .500.
To view the boxscore and highlights, click HERE.
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