Washington left-hander Patrick Corbin looks to resume his recent resurgence when the Nationals host the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second game of a three-game series on Wednesday.
Corbin (4-5, 4.92 ERA) has allowed three earned runs or less in eight of his past nine starts while lowering his ERA from 7.71 in that span.
A key component of the Nationals’ 2019 World Series-winning club, Corbin struggled through the next three seasons, going 17-42 with a 5.82 ERA. In 2022, he was 6-19 with a 6.31 ERA, leading the majors in losses.
In his most recent outing, Corbin allowed four runs, three earned, in five innings during a no-decision against the host Los Angeles Dodgers on May 31. He walked four batters for the second straight start while striking out two, recovering after allowing three first-inning runs.
“You just try to go as deep as you can, so getting through five there, I thought, was huge,” Corbin said after the Nationals won the game 10-6. “And the offense was able to put up a couple runs.”
Corbin, who spent his first six major league seasons with the Diamondbacks, is 0-2 with a 13.86 ERA in three starts against his former team.
Right-hander Zach Davies (0-1, 5.40 ERA) will start for Arizona on Wednesday. Davies will be making his third start since returning from a left oblique injury. He allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday in his most recent start. He walked one and struck out four in the D-backs’ 5-4 win.
Davies is undefeated vs. Washington, 4-0 with a 2.97 ERA in six career starts.
On Tuesday, the Diamondbacks trailed 4-1 after one inning but rallied for a 10-5 win in the series opener. Pavin Smith singled, homered and drove in three runs while Josh Rojas, Gabriel Morena and Emmanuel Rivera also had two hits each for the Diamondbacks, who have won seven of nine and moved into sole possession of first place in the National League West.
Rojas improved to 5-for-11 over his past three games after getting one hit across his previous six contests. His bunt single started a two-run rally in the fourth, and he smacked a two-run single in the sixth.
“These last couple games have been really good for my confidence,” Rojas said. “It was tough there for a while, I thought I’d maybe never get a hit again. Bunts help just to get a hit on the board, get your confidence up. It feels really good and hopefully I keep going.”
Arizona outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. missed his second straight game due to right groin tightness.
Despite Stone Garrett hitting a grand slam against his former team on Tuesday, Washington has lost three straight. Lane Thomas added a solo homer and a single.
Washington pitchers issued eight walks, hit two batters and committed a throwing error.
“We’re walking too many guys,” manager Dave Martinez said. “Hitting batters. Falling behind. Pitching 2-0, 1-0, 3-1. You’re not going to win very many games like that. We’ve got to clean that up.”
The Nationals, who have allowed 32 runs in their past four games, will look to Corbin to limit the need for middle relief, which has been perilous of late.
Washington also made a move to bolster the bullpen, recalling right-hander Jordan Weems from Triple-A Rochester and designating right-hander Andres Machado for assignment. Machado was 0-0 with an 8.47 ERA in 14 games.
–Field Level Media
