WASHINGTON — It is not a small price to pay. But the Washington Nationals are probably fine with the bargain.
They signed Patrick Corbin to a six-year, $140 million contract before the 2019 season and the left-hander played an important role in the Nationals’ World Series championship that year.
For the last five years of that contract, however, the Nationals have been paying one of the worst starting pitchers in baseball very handsomely. In 101 starts before Tuesday, Corbin had a 5.71 ERA and a 27-60 won-loss record. He led all National League pitchers in losses each of the past three seasons, leading MLB in 2021 and 2022.
Corbin had just one scoreless outing in 37 starts before facing the Dodgers on Tuesday night, but he held them scoreless into the sixth inning. The Dodgers had to wait until Corbin was icing his arm before getting enough offense from an unexpected source – the bottom third of their lineup – to beat the Nationals, 4-1, in the opener of a nine-game road trip.
Three of the Dodgers’ four runs were driven in by the seventh or ninth hitters in the order. Coming into the game, the Dodgers’ Nos. 7 through 9 hitters had a combined batting average of .168 with 25 RBIs in the first 24 games.
The fourth run came on a solo home run by Shohei Ohtani in the ninth inning – a 118.7 mph missile off of his bat that traveled an estimated 450 feet in an instant. It was the hardest-hit ball by a Dodger since Statcast began tracking exit velocity in 2015.
Corbin gave up just three hits in his 5⅓ innings. Freddie Freeman had the first – a two-out double in the first inning. Will Smith followed with a walk but Teoscar Hernandez grounded out.
Miguel Rojas led off the third inning with a single and stole second base. But he was stranded there.
Mookie Betts got to second base in the fifth inning on a single and an error by center fielder Jacob Young. But, again, there were already two outs and Smith struck out to end the inning.
The Dodgers couldn’t break through until Corbin left the game in the sixth. Nationals reliever Derek Law gave up a two-out single to Teoscar Hernandez, walked Max Muncy to extend the inning then gave up the game-tying RBI single to Kiké Hernandez.
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That matched an early run manufactured by the Nationals. Ildemaro Vargas led off the second inning with a double, went to third on an infield single and scored on Young’s bunt single.
That was all the damage they managed against Dodgers starter James Paxton. But Manager Dave Roberts had a quick hook, pulling Paxton in the fifth inning after two batters reached with two outs.
The decision worked because four relievers allowed just two hits over the final 4⅓ innings and kept the game tied until the Dodgers scored twice in the eighth inning. Teoscar Hernandez led off with a walk, stole second and rambled home when James Outman dropped an RBI double into right field for the go-ahead run. Outman scored two batters later when Rojas singled.
The lead survived a shaky ninth inning by Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips, who walked three in the inning and gave up a single – but not a run thanks to poor baserunning by the Nationals.
More to come on this story.