Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats
The Nats got blown-out in this game by the final score of 9-3. Starting pitcher Patrick Corbin lasted 2 2/3 innings and gave up 8 runs of which 6 were earned runs. In the month of May, Patrick Corbin had been used like a workhorse throwing 547 pitches in the month before tonight, and that is 3 pitches short of averaging 110 pitches per game. One of the keys to Corbin’s success in Arizona is that he was not pushed hard in games. In fact, he never threw 100 pitches last year in April or May.
“He looked a little flat. That could be a dead arm thing from his last start. I’m sure he’s not going to admit it to the media,” analyst F.P Santangelo said. “The slider wasn’t sharp as you’ve seen in the past, and the fastball didn’t have any giddy-up.”
Last year, Dave Martinez pitched Gio Gonzalez similarly to Corbin as Gio had 4 consecutive starts in May where Gio threw 110+ pitches in each start, and Gio fell apart afterwards. Maybe Corbin can bounceback and this was just a blip on an otherwise stellar season. Gio went from a 2.10 ERA to over 4.50 at the end of August before he figured things out when he was traded to the Brewers.
Corbin avg 109.4p in 5 May starts. Much more than Ariz in '18: 95.2 all yr. Didn't throw >100p in ANY '18 game 'til June 22. All '18 had ONE game w 110p. This May: 118, 107, 108, 98 & 116. Tonite, 2 2/3, 8 runs, 11 hits. Bad pen +poor managing = overused. Protect $140M invest.
— Thomas Boswell (@ThomasBoswellWP) June 1, 2019
Watch out Tom, you will start to sound like me with tweets like that. Nats fans don’t want to hear about pitch counts.
If you want good news, Juan Soto had 3-hits and really was the whole offense and he finished the game batting .301 with a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Also, the Nats bullpen covered 5 1/3 innings only giving up 1 run in this game.
