Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
Yes, the Washington Nationals are giving Patrick Corbin his 24th chance of this season to start tonight’s game, which comes after 31 chances last year. In back-to-back seasons, Corbin leads the league in losses,and earned runs surrendered. His 7.02 ERA is not acceptable, but advanced metrics used to blame the defense for a large portion of the failures. Used to. Much of this is on Corbin and the hard contact he is giving up, and the lack of a putaway pitch. In his last two starts, he did not even make it out of the first inning. Last week, the Nats skipped his start in the rotation. So, Corbin should have a fresh arm. Should. Will this productive side-session that Corbin had with coaches and the analytics team make a difference? I guess we will see.
Truthfully, when you are making $23.3 million a year, they might give you more chances than you deserve, and Corbin has probably used up his nine lives especially considering the team could bring up Cade Cavalli sooner than later for a taste of the Majors.
In manager Dave Martinez‘s lineup, it is no surprise that Keibert Ruiz will get a rest day after two foul tips rocked his cranial structure. Tres Barrera will start behind the plate, and Victor Robles is back at the lead-off.
In Minor League news, we broke news last night on Twitter that the Nats were promoting Robert Hassell III, the teams №1 prospect from High-A Wilmington to Double-A Harrisburg. Yasel Antuna, the teams №14 prospect, would also be promoted to Double-A. This afternoon, these moves were confirmed. Hassell turned 21 years old yesterday, and the Harrisburg Senators now become a team to keep an eye on.
Chicago Cubs vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: Nationals Park, Washington, D.C.
1st Pitch: 7:05 pm EDT
TV: MASN2; Marquee Sports Network; MLB App (out-of-network only)
Nats Radio: 106.7 The Fan and via the MLB app
Lineups (subject to change without notice):
Today is gonna be the day that we're going to lineup like this. #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/WC0BalAZjg
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 16, 2022
