WASHINGTON -- The last time Patrick Corbin took the mound at Nationals Park, he allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings in a loss to the Royals to close out the 2024 season. He concluded his year with a 5.62 ERA.
On Friday night, Corbin made his return to D.C. This one went a bit better than the last. Locked into a pitchers’ duel with Washington starter Michael Soroka, Corbin tossed eight innings of two-run ball as the Rangers fell, 2-0, to open the series against his former team.
“It just didn't work out for us today,” Corbin said. “Once you go out there, you compete. I’ve got a lot of friends over there, but when they're in the batter’s box, I just try to go after them and not necessarily look at them, and stuff like that.
“I pitched here for six years. I've had a lot of games here. I know a lot of people over there, still have relationships with those guys. I wish nothing but the best for those guys, except when we play them. Today didn't work out in our favor.”
It’s the first time Corbin has finished eight innings since June 28, 2022, when he was a member of the Nationals. He is the first Rangers pitcher to log a complete game and lose since Jon Gray -- 1-0 vs. the Cardinals on June 7, 2023, at Globe Life Field.
“I felt good,” Corbin said. “I think throughout the night, we were able to get ahead and make quality pitches, get some ground balls, and get some quick innings. Today was more of a pitcher's game, for sure. I was just locating the fastball, getting ahead of guys. you get some confidence back there, you start attacking guys. When you get some quick outs there, it's a little easier to throw some strikes.”
At one hour and 50 minutes, the loss was the shortest nine-inning game on record for Texas since a 1-0 loss on Sept. 30, 1984, against the California Angels at Arlington Stadium (1 hour, 49 minutes).
In seven of his past eight starts, Corbin has received two or fewer runs of support, including zero in four of those outings. The left-hander has not allowed more than three runs in a single start this season.
“What a terrific job Patrick did,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Eight innings, complete game, two runs, you got to think you’re going to win that game. Again, the story is that we just didn’t swing the bats well. We really didn’t get a lot of swings off. I wish I could tell you why.”
This was Corbin’s sixth career start against Washington, but he faced his former club for the first time since his six-year stint as a National (2019-24). All five of his previous starts against the Nats came from 2012-18, when he was with the Diamondbacks.
It was also Corbin’s 88th career start at Nationals Park, which is the fifth-most games started by any pitcher since the venue opened in 2008.
The 35-year-old southpaw led Washington in games started (170), innings pitched (946 2/3) and strikeouts (832) over his six-year tenure, ranking third in MLB in starts during that span.
“He was the same guy,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “He kept most of the pitches down, which, when he's down like that, he's very effective. But he pitched really, really well. Just watching him go out there and competing, I've seen him for so many years, that's what he does. No matter what, he's out there competing.
"Good or bad, he took the ball every five days. He went out there and, like I said, he competed, and honestly, he helped us win a World Series [in 2019]. You know, without him, we don't do what we did."