Patrick Corbin dominates New York Mets in Washington Nationals’ 5-1 win in D.C.

Patrick Corbin dominated the New York Mets, holding Washington’s NL East rivals to a run on four hits in eight innings, and the Nationals scored early (with three in the first) and put up two more in the third inning in what ended up a 5-1 win in the nation’s capital.

Corbin vs NY: Coming off seven innings of shutout ball against the Dodgers last week in LA, Patrick Corbin took the mound tonight in the nation’s capital with a 3.20 ERA, a 3.48 FIP, 17 walks (3.02 BB/9), 58 Ks (10.30 K/9), and a .210/.282/.349 line against in 50 ²⁄₃ IP.

Tonight’s outing was his third against the Mets this season, after he faced them in back-to-back starts in his first two appearances of 2019, giving up 13 hits and five earned runs over 12 IP in those games.

Corbin retired the first six batters he faced tonight, but ran into trouble in the third, when a one-out single by Juan Lagares, two-out walk to Jeff McNeil, and RBI double to left by J.D. Davis got the Mets on the board, down 3-1, after the Nats jumped out to an early, three-run lead.

It was 5-1 when Corbin took the mound in the top of the fourth and retired the side in order in a 15-pitch frame, picking up two Ks for six total on 60 pitches, and he threw another 15-pitch frame in the fifth, 75 pitches.

An 11-pitch top of the sixth and six-pitch seventh left him at 92 pitches total, with 13 of 14 Mets’ hitters set down after Davis’s RBI double in the third.

Corbin returned to the mound in the eighth and retired two batters (for 15 of 16 set down), but gave up a two-out single, in spite of a diving play and strong throw to first by Wilmer Difo, on a grounder to short by Jeff McNeil, who was stranded at first when J.D. Davis sent a grounder back to the mound to end the frame. 108 pitches total.

Patrick Corbin’s Line: 8.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 Ks, 108 P, 72 S, 9/2 GO/FO.

Font vs D.C.: Wilmer Font, 28, made 37 appearances and five starts in the majors with the Texas Rangers, LA Dodgers, Oakland A’s, and Tampa Bay Rays before he was acquired by the Mets earlier this month.

In his first start for New York, the right-hander, who was working in relief for the Rays before the trade, went four innings on 60 pitches, giving up three hits and two earned runs in a 3-2 loss to the San Diego Padres, in which he received no decision.

The first three batters Font faced tonight reached base with a walk by Adam Eaton, bunt hit by Victor Robles, and a ground-rule double by Anthony Rendon making it a 1-0 game, and a second run scored on an RBI groundout by Juan Soto, 2-0.

Howie Kendrick drove Rendon in with a single of his own, 3-0, and the Nationals made the Mets’ starter throw 30 pitches in the first.

Victor Robles hit his second home run in two days and his 8th of the 2019 campaign on an 0-1 fastball from Font that ended up in the Red Porch seats, 4-1. [ed. note - “Yes, we still call them the Red Porch seats, don’t @ me.”]

Rendon followed with his second double of the night and 15th two-base hit of the season, and he took third on a Soto fly to right, and scored on a two-base hit by Howie Kendrick, 5-1 Nationals.

That was it for Font, who had a comic sans-type of an outing. [ed. note - “Just ignore him.”]

Wilmer Font’s Line: 2.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 Ks, 1 HR, 63 P, 38 S, 1/2 GO/FO.

Robles, Robles, Robles: Victor Robles, 21, hit his seventh home run of the season in last night’s loss, which gave him the team lead, and his 26 runs scored after Tuesday’s game were the most on the club as well, with his 37 hits the second-most, behind only Adam Eaton (45).

Three of the seven homers, including last night’s, were off Noah Syndergaard, though the rookie outfielder once again downplayed his success against the Mets’ starter, as he had when asked about hitting the first two earlier this season.

“I take the same approach same focus to the plate with him and let things happen and what comes, comes,” Robles said. He took an 0-1 fastball from Wilmer Font for a ride tonight, into the Red Porch seats for HR No. 8 of 2019 in the third.

BULLPEN ACTION: Drew Gagnon took over for the Mets in the third and got the last two outs of the frame, then came back out for the fourth with a scoreless inning.

Anthony Rendon (3 for 3) and Juan Soto (1 for 3, RBI) hit back-to-back singles off Gagnon in the bottom of the fifth, but one out later, Brian Dozier (0 for 2 tonight, and 0 for 22 vs NYM this season) grounded into an inning-ending double play (0 for 3, 0 for 23).

Tyler Bashlor retired the Nationals in order in the bottom of the sixth and tossed two hitless innings in relief overall before he was done.

Jeurys Familia got the bottom of the eighth and retired the Nationals in order.

Sean Doolittle, getting work in a non-save situation, and retired the side in order to end it.

Ballgame. 5-1 final.

Nationals now 17-25