Majors-most Ls do not dim Nationals pitcher Corbin's belief
WASHINGTON (AP) â No major league pitcher lost more games in 2022 than Patrick Corbinâs 19. And none took more Ls in 2021 than Corbinâs 16. Last seasonâs ERA for the left-hander was 6.31. A year earlier? 5.82.
Hard not to notice those numbers. Hard not to comment on them. Corbin is all too aware.
âDoesnât really matter what other people are saying,â he said Tuesday in the home clubhouse at Nationals Park before Washington hosted the New York Yankees in an exhibition finale. âI just kind of believe in myself and what Iâve done.â
That includes, most notably, a starring role as a starter and reliever as the Nationals won the 2019 World Series championship. If that seems as if it was forever ago, itâs probably because it is, in some ways, for a franchise that has finished last in every year since and was 55-107 in 2022.
When the Nationals host the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, there will be only two players on Washingtonâs 26-man roster who were around for the title four years ago: Corbin and center fielder Victor Robles.
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On the mound will be Corbin, a 33-year-old in the fifth season of a six-year, $140 million contract that was earned, at least in part, by being an NL All-Star with a 3.15 ERA for Arizona in 2018. It's his second consecutive opening day start for a rotation currently missing World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg and top prospect Cade Cavalli because of injuries.
âLook, heâs a veteran guy. Heâs done it before. Toward the end of spring, he really threw the ball really well. He really did,â manager Dave Martinez said about Corbin. âWe had a lot of conversations about putting everything thatâs happened behind him. In the past. Letâs move forward. Letâs start fresh."
One thing that never changed about Corbin was an ability to be ready for every start. He made 32 in 2017, 33 apiece in 2018 and 2019, 31 apiece in 2021 and 2022.
Those numbers are appreciated by any manager, even if the other numbers associated with Corbin lately were not ideal.
âHe is not a very demonstrative type of person, but it bothered him. He would be the first one to tell you that he didnât perform up to his expectations,â pitching coach Jim Hickey said. âBut he never pointed fingers or made excuses. And give him credit: He took the ball every five days and he never, ever backed down. He never wanted out of a ballgame. Hopefully things go a little bit better for him this year â and I think they will.â
Corbinâs success was based on a top-notch slider paired with his fastball. He worked this spring on improving both of those pitches â adding more shape to his slider; keeping his fastball down â and mixing in a changeup more frequently.
âWhen things are going well, sometimes you feel you can do nothing wrong and you just go out there and pitch. And sometimes when things arenât going well, you might feel good or sometimes not, but youâre always kind of searching or trying to find a way to turn it around. Maybe that was the case,â he said. âWeâve cleaned up some things. Sometimes you just have to simplify it, get back to what youâre good at, get back to what youâve had success at. For me, thatâs my slider.â
MAKING DECISIONS
RHP Josiah Gray will start Game 2 for Washington against Atlanta on Saturday. ... 1B Matt Adams decided to report to Triple-A Rochester after being told he would not make Washingtonâs opening day roster.
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