Washington Nationals news & notes: Patrick Corbin & one bad inning vs the Rays + James Wood expected in D.C.

Corbin and Wood:

“Regardless of what people think about him,” manager Davey Martinez said of veteran left-handed starting pitcher Patrick Corbin, “he’s pitched really well the last three games.”

“He gave it his all. It was a really good pitch.”

Martinez spoke after the 34-year-old starter threw 97 pitches over seven innings, in which Corbin gave up three runs on four hits in two innings and limited San Diego to just one hit.There is nothingHe pitched well over the remaining six innings on the mound at Petco Park.

That’s what Martinez said in a discussion he had with left-hander Corbin before his start against the Padres, as they discussed what could be bringing him down in a game where Corbin is struggling.

“The first inning was a bit chaotic, but then he settled down and got some big outs for us,” Martinez explained, accurately predicting what would happen a few hours later.

“He’s pitched well the last two games, so we’ll go from there. The key for him is keeping the ball down low. He throws a good changeup, a good cutter, a good two-seam.”

“He’s really good when he throws the ball low. If he tries to throw the ball high he gets hit, so we have to keep telling him to keep throwing the ball low.”

What about his comments after the match about what people think of Corbin?

“I just know. I hear it like everybody else, but he’s a guy that expects to go out there and pitch every five days,” the manager said. “I mean, that’s what I like about him. He’s hitting the ball, he’s competing, he’s doing unbelievable. It’s gotten to the point where you have to score runs for him, that’s the key. But he’s given it everything he’s got. I’m proud of him. He can get down sometimes, but he never does. He goes out there and pitches for his teammates, pitches for the Washington Nationals, and I love that.”

Corbin posted a 5.46 ERA with a 4.70 FIP and a .299/.358/.497 ERA in 89 innings (1-7) in his 17th start of the final season of his six-year, $140 million contract in D.C., compared with a 2.60 ERA with a 2.52 FIP and a .197/.279/.213 ERA in his three and 17 games prior to that. ¹⁄₃ IP as Martinez mentioned.

But it was one bad inning that doomed him again. At Tampa Bay’s Tropicana Field, Corbin got three straight outs in the first inning, but his first pitch, a belt-high sinker to Isaac Paredes, landed 415 feet from home plate in the Rays’ stadium, down 1-0. After he hit a single with one out, Jose Caballero smashed a 1-0 sinker over center field for a two-run homer to extend the lead to 3-0, but the Rays lost 5-0 in the series finale in Florida.

Paredes hit an 0-2 sinker in the zone and outside the belt high into the left field again in the fourth inning, leading off with a leadoff triple and scoring on Jose Ciri’s sacrifice fly to put the Rays up 4-0.

“We missed out on two spots,” Martinez said after the loss, which ended a 2-6 road trip to Denver, San Diego and Tampa Bay.

“All of a sudden, that one inning, the three-run inning, cost him the game. But other than that, he pitched well.”

“It was a little frustrating,” Corbin admitted. Quote from MASN’s Mark ZuckermanAfter striking out five, he threw 94 pitches in the starting rotation, striking out 61 batters with 12 strikeouts (spread over four pitches) and 14 strikeouts (seven on a sinker).

“I was feeling really good. I thought all of my pitches went well today,” the pitcher continued.

“I threw a couple of changeups. The first one was a fastball, it was off the outside corner, a little high. The second one was the same. But like I said, I felt pretty good. I thought I was able to throw it. They just let us down by three runs and we just couldn’t come back and they scored two more runs down the stretch. So it’s a tough way to end the road here, but I’m excited to get home.”

“I know there will be times like this during the season,” the Nationals captain said, “but I’m really looking forward to getting home and starting to play.”

Adding to the excitement are rumors that 21-year-old James Wood, a 2021 second-round draft pick, will make his debut in 2022, two years after being acquired by the Nationals from the San Diego Padres in the Juan Soto/Josh Bell trade.

Wood becomes the third prospect acquired in the trade to make the major leagues, joining C.J. Abrams and Mackenzie Gore, who both made their debuts before the trade and are already established on the major league roster.Meanwhile, Robert Hassell III is hitting .278/.369/.369 with six home runs and three triples in Double-A, and pitcher Jarlin Susana, now with Class A Fredericksburg, is hitting 13.15 K/9 with 4.91 BB/9, a 4.91 ERA, a 2.56 FIP and 51.2 ATK in 13 starts. ¹⁄₃ IP — It’s still growing.

Martinez wouldn’t say for sure Wood would be there because the team hasn’t made an official announcement, but we do know that Wood, who has performed well for Triple-A Rochester this season, is scheduled to make his debut at Nationals Park on Monday.In 52 games, he hit .353/.463/.595 with 16 doubles, 10 home runs, 40 walks and 42 strikeouts.).

Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

“That’s the expectation. My biggest thing is, if he’s there, we’re going to put him in the lineup and make him play,” the coach said.

“Any time we have someone like this who causes quite a stir,” Corbyn told reporters. Brian Murphy of MLB.com said:“…You’re just excited to see him out there too.”

“We’re not going to be able to do that,” GM and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo told 106.7 the FAN at Sports Junkies in DC last Wednesday.

“If you can’t be excited about where we are here right now, then you haven’t been paying attention to this rebuild.”