BALTIMORE -- At first, it looked like Patrick Corbin was cruising in the Rangers’ series opener vs. the Orioles at Camden Yards on Monday night.
Corbin worked efficiently in the 100-degree heat, using just 45 pitches through four innings in which he allowed just one run, after Chadwick Tromp and Jackson Holliday hit back-to-back doubles in the third inning.
But things went haywire in the fifth inning -- and again in the sixth -- prompting Corbin to be pulled just three batters into that sixth frame. Texas fell, 6-0, unable to provide any significant run support.
“He’s been working pretty hard and it was hot out there,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “And to your point, yeah there were some quick innings and he had to go back out there, but -- I [do] think it showed a little bit in his last inning.”
The O’s teed off on Corbin in his third time through the lineup -- a stretch typically hard for pitchers to navigate, but not impossible, particularly for a veteran.
But Corbin couldn’t catch any notable break. He induced a groundout to open that fifth frame, then gave up back-to-back singles before recording the second out, a K of Tromp.
Up stepped Holliday, back for a third time seeking another hit. And he got it, after Corbin left a 93 mph sinker down in the zone -- but right over the heart of the plate -- that Holliday walloped for a three-run homer, one of the two pitches Corbin would like back.
Then, the first three batters Corbin faced in the sixth reached on a trio of singles, including a soft bunt down the third-base line that loaded the bases. One run came home on an RBI groundout after Corbin had exited, leaving his final line at five runs on nine hits over five-plus innings with six strikeouts.
“Probably a couple more mistakes here and there [than usual],” Bochy said. “The three-run homer, that was a big blow, and that ball got away from him and it wasn’t quite where he wanted it.”
“I felt great coming in,” Corbin said. “Just left the slider there for the first run of the game, just middle-middle, and probably made a few good pitches there in the fifth. They got a couple hits on it, and then 3-1, threw a fastball, wanted it more away [and he put] a great swing on it. And kind of, that was the story of the game.
“But overall, felt pretty good. We attacked guys, I’d just like to take those two pitches back.”
Pregame, Bochy sang Corbin’s praises, particularly for the role he’s played to help bolster the rotation. Signed in Spring Training after the Rangers lost Jon Gray and Cody Bradford to injuries, Corbin’s purpose has been to eat innings.
“Wanted to get through that sixth there, too, and just try to get as many innings as we can,” Corbin said. “But yeah, that was just a little frustrating there, not being able to finish that, but that’s our job. … Sometimes, even if you’re not on the right side of the game, you can do your job by helping those guys out a little bit.”
Though it might not always be pretty, Corbin has done just that. He’s pitched at least five innings in all but two of his starts (four innings on April 8 at the Cubs and 4 2/3 innings on April 28 vs. the A’s). And that, in essence, is what Bochy was complimenting.
“I mean, what a great sign[ing] for us,” Bochy said pregame, “because he has eaten up a lot of [innings]. He’s done a terrific job, consistently giving us a chance to win.”
There wasn’t very much of a chance to win on Monday, though, as the Rangers managed just three hits off the O’s staff. Trevor Rogers’ eight scoreless were the first time a Baltimore starter had pitched at least eight innings since 2023.
“It’s tough,” said Josh Jung, who went 0-for-3 with a 106.8 mph groundout and a 99.4 mph lineout. “... Everything we kind of hit found a glove, and that’s baseball. I mean, Trevor went eight innings, and as an offense, we just got to find a way to scratch the ball and get out of there sooner. But hats off to him, and hopefully we come back tomorrow and swing the bats.”
“I think we’re heading in the right direction,” Bochy said. “When you have a dud like this, yeah it doesn’t look good. I’m the first to say that, ‘You look flat.’ And I always say, when you don’t hit, you look flat. And we just couldn’t get some runners on base there.”