Washington Nationals drop 3-1 decision to Colorado Rockies; rubber match in Coors Field tomorrow...

Patrick Corbin gave up just two runs in six innings, which, in Coors Field, you know, but one of the two came on his 37th home run allowed this season, the highest total in the National League, and it was an absolute bomb of a 475-foot last by Colorado Rockies’ slugger Trevor Story, who put the home team up 2-0 early on the Washington Nationals in what ended up a 3-1 win.

Corbin vs the Rockies: Facing the Rockies in the nation’s capital earlier this month, Patrick Corbin gave up 10 hits (2 homers), three walks, and six earned runs in four innings pitched, in which he threw a total of 87 pitches.

Three pitches into that outing, Corbin was down 2-0, giving up a leadoff double by Garrett Hampson, and a two-run home run by Brendan Rodgers in the first two at-bats, and before he got out of the first the Nationals were down 3-0 to the Rockies.

“Just the way that my season is going,” Corbin said after that game.

“I think I was max-effort a lot of the game, which normally I’m not. Just really trying to throw the perfect pitch, and ended up missing my spots, yanking pitches.”

Corbin followed up on that outing with 6 ²⁄₃ scoreless against the Reds in Cincinnati, and tonight in Coors Field in Colorado, the left-hander tossed three scoreless to start, on 50 pitches, but a one-out walk, single, and RBI double, by C.J. Cron, Elias Díaz, and Ryan McMahon, respectively, over a seven-pitch stretch in the home-half of the fourth gave the Rockies their first run, 1-0.

Corbin got a swinging K from Yonathan Daza for out No. 2, then issued an intentional walk to Sam Hilliard to bring the opposing pitcher up with the bases loaded, and got another K from Kyle Freeland to leave the bases full of Rockies.

Trevor Story got all of an 0-1 slider and then some with one down in the bottom of the fifth, and hit a monster, 475-foot home run to the left of center field in Coors Field, for home run No. 24 of 2021 and a 2-0 Rockies’ lead. HR No. 37 off Corbin this season, the most by any NL starter.

Corbin struck out two and stranded a two-out single in a 16-pitch sixth which left him at 101 pitches overall, with nine Ks from 26 batters faced, and that was it for the southpaw against the Rockies...

Patrick Corbin’s Line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 Ks, 1 HR, 101 P, 64 S, 6/0 GO/FO.

Freeland vs the Nationals: Kyle Freeland tossed six scoreless against the Nationals during the Rockies’ visit to the nation’s capital, working around seven hits and a walk in a 6-0 win, which he followed up on with a six-inning start against the Dodgers in which he gave up a total of eight hits and three earned runs.

Tonight the 28-year-old southpaw was taking on the Nationals in Coors Field, where he had a 5.26 ERA and a .304/.351/.523 line against in 10 starts and 53 IP (versus a 3.84 ERA, and a .268/.332/.437 line against in 12 starts and 61 IP outside of Denver).

Freeland tossed four scoreless to start, on just 47 pitches, working around four hits and a walk, and he took the mound in the fifth with a 1-0 lead, and retired the Nationals in order on 11 pitches, for [does maths] 58 total after five scoreless.

A 12-pitch sixth, in which he worked around a leadoff walk, with a 6-3 double play from Juan Soto and swinging K from Ryan Zimmerman, after he put Alcides Escobar on, left him at 70 pitches total, and Freeland came back out for the top of the seventh and gave up back-to-back, one-out singles by Yadiel Hernández and Carter Kieboom, and a base-loading, two-out walk to Josh Bell, then he walked Lane Thomas to force in a run, 2-1.

That was it for Freeland...

Kyle Freeland’s Line: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 3 Ks, 91 P, 62 S, 7/4 GO/FO.

Mostly K-Free Zone: Going into tonight’s game, the Nationals mentioned in their pregame notes, Juan Soto had, “... struck out three times in his last 75 plate appearances (4.0%) and [had] just eight strikeouts in his last 137 plate appearances (5.8%).”

David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Bell, “had just nine strikeouts in his last 99 plate appearances (9.1%) and 19 strikeouts in his last 179 plate appearances (10.6%).”

Keibert Ruiz, the 23-year-old rookie catcher, had, “struck out just one time in his last 46 plate appearances (1.6%).”

Bell didn’t start, but he walked in a pinch hit appearance. Juan Soto struck out in the eighth, leaving him 0 for 4 on the night. Ruiz didn’t strike out. He went 1 for 4 overall.

Bullpen Action: Tyler Kinley took over for the Rockies with the bases loaded and one out, after a walk by Kyle Freeland forced in a run and ended his outing, and got a fly to center from Alcides Escobar for out No. 3.

Jhon Romero gave up a leadoff triple to center field by Raimel Tapia in the first at-bat of the Rockies’ seventh, and a one-out double by Brendan Rodgers made it a 3-1 game after seven in Coors Field.

Jordan Sheffield came on for the Rockies in the eighth and worked around a one-out single by Ryan Zimmerman for a scoreless frame.

Patrick Murphy kept it a 3-1 game in the Rockies’ favor with a scoreless bottom of the eighth inning.

Carlos Estévez came on to close it out, and earned the save with a scoreless frame.

Final Score: 3-1 Rockies

Nationals now 65-93