Washington Nationals: Patrick Corbin finds the cure to what ails him
For many Washington Nationals fans, a return of the Patrick Corbin to his 2019 form would be a blessing for all involved. Corbin was rocked in his first start of the year, made his next three starts with a double digit earned run average, and has been a shell of the pitcher who won 14 games with a 3.25 ERA in his first year in DC.
Turns out, all Corbin needed was an outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates to get him out of his rut. Possibly temporarily, hopefully permanently. We used to say a trip to Coors Field was all a struggling hitter needed to find his stroke. Apparently in 2021 all a struggling pitcher needs is a scheduled start against the Bucco’s, one of baseball’s worst hitting teams.
Patrick Corbin had a stellar start for the Nationals as he hopes to get back to the pitcher he was in year one with the team.
Corbin had given up four earned runs in three of his last four games, while not pitching six innings in any of them. The game he didn’t allow four runs, he allowed three, and walked more hitters than he struck out. To say Corbin was struggling, would be an understatement.
Enter the Pirates. Their .228 batting average prior to facing Corbin was better than just one team in the National League. Their 47 home runs is worst in all of baseball, eleven fewer than the next closest team. The Pirates have scored the second fewest runs in the Majors and are a rebuilding team who isn’t really trying anymore.
As Corbin was becoming a third time through the order pitcher, he was able to put together 8.1 innings against Pittsburgh, just the third time in 13 starts he’s pitched more than six innings in an outing. His ERA is below six for the first time since Opening Day.
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Do we expect this game against a league bottom-feeder to get Corbin back on track? Well, no, we won’t get ahead of ourselves. Did Corbin pitch a great game. Yes, indeed. Seven strikeouts over eight plus innings, walking just one hitter and allowing just one run. We’ll take the pitching performance, and hope Corbin gains some confidence for his next time out.