Corbin shines against team he had snubbed
WASHINGTON — If Gerrit Cole’s arrival allowed the Yankees fan base to move beyond the Patrick Corbin saga, Corbin did his part to revive it on Sunday at Nationals Park.
The left-hander, who grew up a Yankees fan in upstate New York and barely hid his interest in the Yankees two offseasons ago before signing with the Nationals, began his 2020 in fine fashion, allowing only two hits and a run in 6 ¹/3 innings of work. He departed as the winning pitcher, only to see his teammates in the bullpen give up the lead as the Yankees edged Washington, 3-2.
Asked if it was meaningful to pitch against the Yankees for only the second time in his nine-year career, Corbin said, “Yeah, I remember pitching in Yankee Stadium [in 2013], which was cool [in my] first full season, having family there. I know a lot of family back in Syracuse were watching.”
The Yankees welcomed Corbin, then a free agent, for a Yankee Stadium visit in November 2018, and while they discussed financial parameters with him, the two sides never got close to agreeing on terms. The Yankees had a four- or five-year contract in mind for Corbin, and the Nats landed him for $140 million over six years. Corbin rewarded the Nats’ faith by playing a key role in the franchise’s first championship.
On Sunday, Corbin twirled six scoreless innings and struck out Aaron Judge to begin the seventh. When the next batter, Gleyber Torres, took him deep to break the shutout, however, Corbin’s 75th pitch, Washington manager Dave Martinez went to the mound.
“It was hot,” Martinez said, referring to the first-pitch temperature of 91 degrees. “We talked about, ‘This was the first time he’s been up in the seventh inning.’ To the first batter, the ball was up a little bit. He likes to pitch down in the zone.
“I went out and talked to him. He said he felt fine. We had our guys in the bullpen locked in. I thought it was the perfect opportunity. He gave us all he had for as long as he could.”
Will Harris relieved Corbin and, after striking out Giancarlo Stanton, gave up the game-tying homer to Luke Voit.
Despite the final score, Corbin didn’t disagree with his manager’s decision, saying, “I haven’t made it to a sixth inning [in intrasquad/exhibition action], so I thought getting to the seventh there, even though the pitch count wasn’t super high, getting up seven times wasn’t something that I have done. After that home run, with Stanton coming up, we have a good bullpen down there, so you’ve got to get them in there. I understand it.”
He’s making it as hard as possible, though, for Yankees fans to understand why their team passed on him.