Corbyn continues to lose his place:
Davey Martinez briefly summed up Patrick Corbin’s struggles Tuesday night, speaking to reporters after a 10-0 win. minnesota twinstied the score in three consecutive games at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
Corbin was actually strong in May, posting a 3.24 ERA, 3.21 FIP, and a .297/.343/.438 line before Tuesday’s opener, allowing six runs and 16 runs in three starts. 2⁄3 IP after finishing the first month-plus of the 2024 season with a 6.82 ERA, 4.63 FIP and a .353/.405/.564 batting line in six starts and 31 games played. 2⁄3 IP.
The 34-year-old hit two home runs in his first start of the season, but in his eight starts before facing the Twins, he had hit just two home runs in 44 innings.
Corbin started six innings and allowed nine hits, including three home runs, eight runs allowed, three walks, and three strikeouts.
What do the Twins’ home runs have in common?2nd time is Byron Buxton, 3rd time is Jose Miranda, 5th time is Buxton again.).
“I was in the wrong place,” Martinez said. “He tried to hit all three home runs and threw the ball out of the bat. He was in a bad position today.
“But he’s pitching well, and for what it’s worth, he gave us six innings and kind of saved our bullpen for tomorrow.”
But the trip wasn’t a good one for Corbin, who threw 106 pitches, 60 of which were strikes.
“Sometimes those days just happen out of the blue. He’s been really good and kept us in the game. It just didn’t happen today.”
After a night in which the club scored 13 points against the Twins, nothing happened on offense either.
Tweet heater.
How has his offense changed from night to night in the first two games of the series?
“Obviously the pitcher,” Martinez said. “We were on the back foot, but pitcher Ryan kept us off balance, but his fastball worked really well tonight.
“He located the ball and it was high up in the zone so we couldn’t get on top of it, but he threw the ball well.”
“His stuff was good. His stuff was really good. We have a chance to come back tomorrow and win the series, so let’s come back tomorrow and win the series 1-0.”
Did Lewis return too early?
Keibert Ruiz dealt with a particularly bad bout of the flu and missed 13 games. During his time on the IL, he reportedly lost 18 to 20 pounds. He played in just two games during his rehab period before returning to the big leagues, hitting 3 of 4 after going 2 of 4 in the Nationals’ 12-3 win on Monday. However, his batting average was still only .153/. In 20 games since his time on the IL, he has hit .176/.222 with two doubles, one home run, one walk, and 12 Ks in 74 at-bats.
How, if anything, did his struggles affect his confidence?
“He was really, really good, really good,” coach Davey Martinez said in Monday’s pregame press conference.
“He’s frustrated,” Martinez added. , because it’s not his fault that he really got sick. But he was very positive. ”
Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
In hindsight, did the club bring him back in such a hurry? Should he have been given more time to get back to speed in the minors after his prolonged illness?
“He said he was feeling really good, but then he slowed down a little bit,” Martinez explained. “But it’s part of the process of slowly getting back into shape. So, like I said, I’ll continue to monitor him, but he seems to have put some weight back on now. He said he feels good and he’s feeling pretty good and all he has to do is go out and play baseball.”
The manager said Lewis is working on both sides of his game, getting back to hitting and improving his catching as he plays most days as the Nationals’ No. 1 backstop.
“He’s been spending a lot of time catching, so I’m hoping he’s starting to feel better overall. We worked with him today, not trying too hard, just making good swings and getting strikes. We talked about swinging. The biggest thing for me is that he chases a lot. When he does that, he usually does that. He’s a big part of our lineup and a big part of our young players, so he’ll be fine.”
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Rafael Suanes – USA TODAY Sports
Martinez said he tried to convince Lewis that he believed he had the ability to turn things around.
“I said to him, ‘This isn’t the first time – and I’m sure you’ve been sick, but this isn’t the first time you’ve slowed down either.’ You pick it up and you’re like – Wow! So focus on today, focus on what you have to do to prepare for the catch, each at-bat preparing for the next pitch. Let’s try. But he was good. I saw him today and he was laughing with the guys in the cage, so we had to keep him positive. ”