Patrick Corbin recorded a season-high eight strikeouts across six strong innings as the host Washington Nationals topped the Colorado Rockies 8-3 on Thursday afternoon in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Corbin (3-12) allowed just one run on four hits while walking one to earn his 100th career win and first since July 19. He had gone 0-3 with an 8.51 ERA over his previous five starts.
Brenton Doyle spoiled Corbin’s shutout bid with a two-out solo shot in the top of the sixth to pull Colorado within 2-1. However, the Nationals broke the game open in the home half of the frame.
Lucas Gilbreath took over on the mound and gave up CJ Abrams’ double before hitting James Wood with a pitch to open the inning. Keibert Ruiz followed with a run-scoring double, and Luis Garcia Jr. and Jose Tena added RBI singles to stake Washington to a 5-1 advantage.
Gilbreath didn’t record a single out, and he then handed the ball off to Justin Lawrence, who stopped the bleeding by retiring the next three batters in order.
Rockies starter Cal Quantrill (8-9) kissed any chance of a no-decision goodbye when the Nationals put together their three-run rally in the sixth. The right-hander yielded two runs and two hits in five innings, walking two and fanning four.
Juan Yepez put the finishing touches on Washington’s victory with a three-run blast in the eighth.
Colorado’s Jacob Stallings cracked a two-run home run in the top of the ninth to close the scoring.
Wood reached base three times for the Nationals, drawing a walk in the first and smacking a two-run single in the third before getting plunked.
After Wood drove in Joey Gallo and Alex Call with his base hit, it looked like Colorado was going to quickly erase its 2-0 deficit.
The Rockies loaded the bases in the top of the fourth, but Corbin got Nolan Jones to ground into a 4-6-3, inning-ending double play. Four of the next five Colorado batters ended up striking out, a run of futility that Doyle ended with his homer in the sixth.
–Field Level Media
