Washington Nationals at Miami Marlins: Grapefruit League GameThread

Patrick Corbin gave up two hits and one run in two innings of work in his 2021 Grapefruit League debut last Saturday, striking out three of the eight Miami Marlins’ batters he faced, and looking ahead on the schedule, a reporter noted, he was set to face the Fish again in start No. 2. Is that sort of thing a concern? Seeing a divisional rival twice in a row early in the spring? Not really, manager Davey Martinez said.

“I don’t think it bothers these guys,” he explained. “I think for the most part it works two ways. They want to face their hitters and see what they got, face them and see what they can do. And then vice versa, the hitters on the Marlins get a chance to see them. But like I said, it’s all about getting their work in.

“And we can do other things, but these guys got to compete and compete in games. So, that’s the way they look at it, I don’t think it really bothers any of these guys. We talk a lot about maybe towards the end of Spring Training if it lines up to where we’ve got somebody in our division we might do something different, but right now these guys are just trying to build up and get their work in.”

Corbin said after his initial outing of the spring that he was just happy to face hitters who were wearing an opposing team’s uniform for the first time this year.

“I haven’t really gone out there and thrown and faced anybody else, but I think you always love just facing another team,” Corbin said. “Going out there — been around our guys a couple weeks now, got to face them, but now it’s another step up from bullpens to live to facing a different team. I think right now you’re just trying to feel good, come out of it, be healthy and try to work on some things if you think something wasn’t working that day.

“This is what Spring Training is for.”

Corbin goes up against the Marlins again this afternoon in Jupiter, FL’s Roger Dean Stadium in a 1:05 PM ET matchup that is being broadcast live (on the radio) on the Nationals’ official site, with Charlie Slowes calling the action.

HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP FOR TODAY’S GAME VS THE FISH: