Washington Nationals 7-5 over Miami Marlins: Patrick Corbin dominates Fish in MIA...

Patrick Corbin tossed a complete game shutout against the Miami Marlins in May, and he held them to a run on three hits in seven strong tonight, striking out nine of 25 hitters on 100 pitches in what ended up a 7-5 Washington win.

Trailing 1-0 after five, the Nationals connected for three straight singles off Marlins’ righty Zac Gallen, tying it up before Matt Adams hit a three-run blast to right off Wei-Yin Chen to make it a three-run lead.

Corbin vs the Fish: Patrick Corbin tossed a complete game shutout against Miami’s Marlins back on May 25th in the nation’s capital, working around four hits and a walk in a 116-pitch effort in a 5-0 win.

“You try to have every start like, that but it doesn’t always work out,” Corbin told reporters after the fifth complete game and second complete game shutout of his seven-year major league career.

“Just made some good pitches over the course of the game. Defense was excellent tonight.

“And Yan [Gomes] laid down the right pitches. It just felt like we were on [the same] page the whole day.”

He was winless in the three starts the followed, however, (with an 11.37 ERA in 12 ²⁄₃ IP over that stretch), before he earned a win with seven strong against the Philadelphia Phillies last time out before tonight.

Going up against the Fish for the second time this season, Corbin tossed two scoreless on 37 pitches, but gave up a two-out single by the opposing pitcher, Zac Gallen, and a walk to Miguel Rojas, then watched as a two-out liner to left field by Harold Ramirez went into and popped out of Juan Soto’s glove for an RBI single that put the Marlins up, 1-0.

Corbin held the Fish there through five, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out six, and he took the mound in the sixth at 73 pitches, with a 4-1 lead, courtesy of an RBI single by Anthony Rendon and a three-run home run by Matt Adams in the top of the inning, and retired the Marlins in order in a 12-pitch frame.

A 15-pitch, 1-2-3 seventh, in which he picked up two more Ks, left Corbin at 100 pitches and eight strikeouts on the night.

Patrick Corbin’s Line: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 Ks, 100 P, 70 S, 7/3 GO/FO.

Corbin: 13-27-53-61-73-85-100

Gallen vs the Nats: One of three players acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in the trade for Marcell Ozuna in late 2017, Zac Gallen, 23, and a 2016 3rd Round pick by the Cardinals, made his MLB debut against his former team last week, giving up five hits, two walks, and one earned run in five innings in a 7-6 win for Miami in which he received no decision.

Gallen got off to a strong start tonight, tossing four scoreless on 70 pitches, striking out 6 of the first 15 batters he faced as the Fish jumped out to a 1-0 lead.

Gallen was up to 86 pitches after five scoreless, but five pitches and three singles later he was lifted after giving up a run on an RBI hit by Anthony Rendon in the top of the sixth.

Turner scored the Nationals’ first run after leading off with a single and moving to third on a single by Adam Eaton...

Zac Gallen’s Line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 Ks, 91 P, 59 S, 0/1 GO/FO.

Soto is Streaking: Juan Soto extended his on-base streak to 10-straight games with a single in his second at bat in last night’s series opener in Miami, and his 1 for 3 night left him 15 for 35 (.429/.500/.771) with two doubles, two triples, two homers, 11 RBIs, five walks, two stolen bases, and eight runs scored over the course of his streak.

Soto was 0 for 1 with a walk against Marlins’ right Zac Gallen, and he struck out with two on and no one out against Wei Yin-Chen in the sixth, 0 for 2, BB, and popped out in the eighth, 0 for 3, BB.

He got one more shot to extend it against hard-throwing righty Tayron Guerrero with two on and one out in the ninth, and worked the count full, and walked. Streak over. Long live the streak.

BULLPEN ACTION: Wei-Yin Chen took over for Miami with runners on first and second with no one out in the top of the sixth and Juan Soto at the plate, and struck Soto out, but he fell behind Matt Adams, 3-1, and gave up a three-run home run on a slider up in the zone. No. 11 of 2019 for Adams, 4-1 Nationals.

Marlins’ lefty Jarlin García worked around a one-out single by Trea Turner in a scoreless top of the seventh.

García returned to the mound in the eighth, but was replaced by Tayron Guerrero after a two-out double by Victor Robles, who was stranded at second when Brian Dozier rolled a grounder to third for out No. 3. Still 4-1 Nationals.

Wander Suero got the bottom of the eighth for the Nationals, and retired the side in order, striking out two in a 14-pitch frame.

Tayron Guerrero gave up a leadoff walk to Yan Gomes, hit Gerardo Parra, and walked Trea Turner to load them up with no one out in the ninth, then threw a wild pitch that brought run No. 5 in for the Nationals, 5-1. And it was 6-1 on a bases-loaded sac fly off of Anthony Rendon’s bat after Adam Eaton walked to load’em back up.

Juan Soto took the fourth walk of the inning, and that was it for Guerrero. Austin Brice came on with the bases loaded and one out and Matt Adams at the plate and struck Adams out, but a wild pitch to Victor Robles let run No. 7 come in, 7-1.

Javy Guerra gave up a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, surrendering two walks and two singles before the Nationals went to the pen for Sean Doolittle in a 7-2 game.

Doolittle gave up a base-clearing triple by Curtis Granderson, 7-5, but got out No. 3. [phew]

Ballgame.

Nationals now 39-40