Washington Nationals take 2 of 3 from Los Angeles Dodgers, but drop finale, 7-1

Corbin vs LAD:

Patrick Corbin took the mound this afternoon winless in four July starts, with a 5.87 ERA, a 4.17 FIP, six walks, 23 Ks, and a .333/.371/.485 line against in 23 IP on the mound this month.

It’s been yet another tough stretch for the 33-year-old left-hander who’s been searching for answers over two-plus seasons now, but still taking the mound every five days, while trying to sort things out and get back to where he was in 2018-19.

“We got to stay positive with him,” Nationals’ skipper Davey Martinez said after Corbin gave up eight hits and five runs in five innings on the mound in Arizona last time out before this afternoon’s outing in LA.

“He’s had some really good outings, and today, the balls that got hit hard, the balls were just up in the zone ... when he’s really good, his two-seamer is working down in the zone, and his slider plays off of that.”

Corbin got off to another rough start in the series finale with the Dodgers in Chavez Ravine this afternoon, giving up four runs in the bottom of the first, with a leadoff double to start it all, by Mookie Betts, two-out walk by Dodgers’ catcher Will Smith, and RBI singles by Justin Turner and Trayce Thompson, before Hanser Alberto lined a two-out, two-run double out to right-center for a 4-0 lead early in the series finale.

Austin Barnes followed with an RBI single, 5-0, and it was 6-0 after Victor Robles and Juan Soto converged on a fly to right-center by Gavin Lux and both pulled up at the same time and let it drop, 6-0. Ugly.

And Corbin’s day was done after a two-out single by Mookie Betts (2 for 2 in the 1st) on his 45th pitch of the game...

Patrick Corbin’s Line: 0.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 0 Ks, 45 P, 26 S, 1/0 GO/FO.

Heaney in Chavez Ravine:

Signed to a 1-year/$8.5M free agent deal by the Dodgers this winter, Andrew Heaney, 31, had made just three starts for LA this season before today, two in April, and one in June before he went onto the IL with left shoulder inflammation, but the southpaw returned to the majors after rehabbing in the minors, with the club planning to limit him to 75 pitches-ish per start, as they build him back up and try to get him through the rest of the season healthy.

Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images

Heaney got up to 71 in four scoreless innings this afternoon, working around a hit and three walks, with a 6-0 lead after one, and the Dodgers went to the pen in the fifth...

Andrew Heaney’s Line: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 Ks, 71 P, 40 S, 2/2 GO/FO.

Bullpen Action:

Erasmo Ramírez took over for Patrick Corbin in the first, with two on and two out, and got out No. 3 with the first pitch he threw. Still 6-0 Dodgers.

Ramírez gave up leadoff single in the second, but erased the runner one out later on an inning-ending 6-4-3 DP, and he retired the side in order in the bottom of the third.

Ramírez was up to 39 pitches total in 3 ¹⁄₃ scoreless after he stranded two in the Dodgers’ half of the fourth.

Phil Bickford worked around a two-out walk to Tres Barrera for a scoreless fifth.

Steve Cishek was next out of the pen for the Nationals, working around a leadoff walk for a scoreless bottom of the fifth inning.

Alex Vesia, a Dodgers’ lefty, struck out Juan Soto and Josh Bell for outs 2-3 of a 1-2-3 sixth.

Cishek came back for more work in the bottom of the inning, and got an inning-ending 4-3 DP after a one-out walk to Mookie Betts. Still 6-0 Dodgers.

Lane Thomas and Luis García hit back-to-back, one-out doubles off reliever Jake Reed in the top of the seventh, with Thomas scoring on García’s ground-rule double to right field, 6-1.

Jordan Weems retired the Dodgers in order in a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh to keep it a five-run game... or something.

David Price took over for Jake Reed after César Hernandez’s one-out double in the top of the eighth, and retired Soto and Bell to end the inning.

Trayce Thompson walked to start the Nats’ eighth, with Andres Machado on the mound, and scored two outs later on an RBI hit by Gavin Lux, 7-1.

Nationals now 34-66