Fastball issue for Corbin
CHICAGO — The diagnoses for Patrick Corbin’s rough stretch have been a bit off, but it’s hard to blame manager Dave Martinez and shortstop Trea Turner, given what they saw.
They both noted, on separate occasions, that Corbin isn’t getting opponents to chase his slider like he normally does. Martinez made that observation on May 31, after a patient approach from the Cincinnati Reds led Corbin to pound the strike zone to climb back in counts. The left-hander, one of the Washington Nationals’ cornerstone starters, gave up eight runs (six of them earned) in 2 2⁄ innings, his
3 worst outing of the year. Turner’s assessment came last Thursday in San Diego, after the final two hitters Corbin faced watched the lefty pound sliders into the dirt with no success. He gave up five runs in five innings and walked a season-high five batters in that game.
And while Corbin agrees with Martinez and Turner, noting everything has to be better right now, he sees a bigger issue.
“Everyone wants to talk about my slider, and how effective it is, but it really can’t be without fastball command,” Corbin said in San Diego, a day after coughing up a four-run lead in a loss to the Padres. “It starts with my fastball, even if the slider is the pitch I want to get to. I’m just not locating right now.”
Rookie Dakota Hudson allowed one run in a career-high seven innings, and the Cardinals beat the host Marlins 7-1. It was the Marlins’ sixth loss in a row. Hudson (5-3) gave up four hits, struck out six and retired 10 in a row during one stretch. C Yadier Molina, who was activated from the 10-day IL after missing 11 games with a strained right thumb tendon, went 2-for-5 with a single and a double. Marcell Ozuna punctuated the victory with a ninth-inning HR for his 18th of the season. He has a career average of .452 (14-for-31) against his former team.
Mike Fiers allowed two runs and three hits in six innings, Matt Olson and Khris Davis hit consecutive HRs, and the A’s beat the host Rays 4-3. Fiers (6-3) improved to 4-0 in his last seven starts that began with his no-hitter against the Reds on May 7.
Pete Alonso hit a three-run HR in the first, J.D. Davis and Carlos Gomez also went deep, and the visiting Mets beat the Yankees 10-4 for a split of their day-night Subway Series doubleheader. Alonso’s HR was his 22nd, the second-most for a rookie before the All-Star break, trailing only Cody Bellinger’s 25 for the Dodgers in 2017. In the opener, Luke Voit hit a three-run HR off Zack Wheeler in a five-run fourth as the Yankees overcame a three-run deficit to win 12-5.