Wire Taps: Patrick Corbin remembers Tyler Skaggs; Trea Turner walks off; Washington Nationals sign international prospects...

There’s not really such a thing as a signature Nationals moment. Players don’t exactly earn their Curly W the way Yankees “earn their pinstripes.” That said, if there was such a thing, Patrick Corbin would have just earned his Curly W.

Here’s the news from Nationals Park:

After the death of close friend Tyler Skaggs, all Patrick Corbin could do was pitch (WaPo)
All Corbin could think about was the friend he lost. But you have to play; the schedule says so, the contracts say so. And between the lines, things feel simpler, easier to cope with — so Patrick Corbin just pitched, and after a rough start, he played his heart out.

On emotional, rain-soaked evening, Trea Turner walks it off for the Nationals (WaPo)
The offense was limited: a two-run homer and a double did the damage for the evening. But it mopped up the rain and helped the night's starter forget his emotions. (As a sidenote, Juan Soto is enjoying a fantastic run currently.)

Nationals’ Patrick Corbin pays tribute to best friend Tyler Skaggs by wearing his number - The Washington Post
Skaggs was in Corbin's wedding party. “[Corbin] was emotional,” Martinez said. “Like I said, he wants to pitch. He feels like it’s what he needs to do. And I told him, hey, you have the support of myself, your players, your coaches, the organization and the fans, you know, we are all behind you.”

Turner's walk-off double rewards Corbin on emotional night (MASN)
With his friend's—and his own number—scratched out on the mound behind him, Corbin powered through seven innings and a rain delay to a stellar one-run performance.

Martinez said Corbin emotional at loss of "best friend" Skaggs (MASN)
Davey Martinez kept an eye out for Patrick Corbin on a rough day for him, throwing the entire organization's support behind him.

Patrick Corbin wears 45 for Tyler Skaggs (MLB.com)
It's unclear if Corbin will hold onto number 45 or return to 46; his night was an emotional one as he mourned the loss of a player with whom he came up and remained friends.

Max Scherzer for MVP? MLB’s ‘most inspirational’ player should be a candidate, Steve Phillips says. (WaPo)
Steve Phillips, once the Mets' GM, thinks Scherzer has the guts and moxie to turn around a season, to pitch with a black eye and dominate — though fWAR puts him about a half win behind Cody Bellinger.

We don’t appreciate Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer enough (BtBS)
Max Scherzer has a 2.07 FIP, a 49 FIP-, is posting career bests in K/R, ERA, FIP, and HR/9. By keeping the ball on the ground and keeping the ball lower, especially his slider, he's allowing far fewer runs and big hits, though slightly more ground ball hits. All of which is to say, as he posts numbers comparable to those of Maddux, Gibson, and Martinez in this season with a juiced ball, it's pretty impressive.

After a rocky start, Max Scherzer remembered what’s made him one of baseball’s best (WaPo)
On May 18th, Max Scherzer's record was 2-5. He had endured a rough start that included a 5.1-inning, six-run game against Miami. On May 22nd, he started the path towards returning to dominance, which led him to the best month he's ever seen, truly beginning with an eight-inning performance in Cincinnati.

Anthony Rendon All-Star Game uncertain (MLB.com)
Anthony Rendon likely wants a few days to recover from a number of nagging little injuries, but he's still undecided on if he'll go to the game. Davey Martinez, however, is pushing for Rendon to make the trip to Cleveland.

Rendon admits injury may keep him out of All-Star Game (MASN)
“I’ve been dealing with it for a while, definitely a few weeks now,” he said. “And I’m pretty sure you can go back and watch the games: I haven’t been running out balls as much as I usually do in the past. So you guys can go back and try to figure that out. I’m not going to release that.”

Nats net seven international players (MASN)
Along with Andry Lara, all of 16 (he was either born in 2002 or 2003, folks!), the Nats signed Franklin Marquez, Roismar Quintana, Pablo Aldonis, Juan Garcia, Dawry Martinez, and Eliesel Santana.

Nationals to sign No. 16 international prospect (MLB.com)
Andry Lara's deal is worth $1.25 million. The young Venezuelan profiles as a "top-of-the-rotation" starter and is an exciting addition for Johnny DiPuglia.

Turner drives in winning run, Nationals beat Marlins 3-2 (AP News)
As for the game itself, it wasn't super exciting until the end: a few bursts of offense and then consistently quick innings.

Max Scherzer’s starts are bad for opposing hitters, good for homeless cats and dogs (WaPo)
Erica May Scherzer and Max have encouraged fans to pledge a donation for every Max strikeout, promising to pledge the same at the end of the year, all for the Humane Rescue Alliance. So far, it's netted the HRA $17,000, and the season is just half-over now.