Washington Nationals’ Davey Martinez talks skipping Patrick Corbin next time around...

Nationals Skipping Corbin’s Next Turn:

Patrick Corbin’s second outing in the last three in which he failed to get out of the first put Nationals’ manager Davey Martinez in a tough position. Three seasons into his struggles in Washington’s rotation, Corbin’s issues forced the fifth-year skipper to consider his options outside of just continuing to run the 33-year-old southpaw out there, hoping against hope he’d figure things out.

“We’ll have some discussions,” Martinez said after Corbin gave up five hits (two home runs) and six earned runs in ²⁄₃ of an inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in Citizens Bank Park.

“But I’m going to talk to Patrick, and just see where he’s at, you know, mentally. He says all the right things. I talk to him. He’s working on different things.

“So we’ll see where we’re at in the next few days.”

Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Through 23 starts this year, Corbin is (4-16) with a 7.02 ERA, a 4.96 FIP, and a .331/.387/.533 line against in 110 ¹⁄₃ IP, on his way to becoming the first 20-game loser in the majors since Mike Maroth (with Detroit) in 2003.

“The numbers are up there,” Martinez acknowledged, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman when he spoke to reporters before last night’s game.

“But with that being said, we’ve really got to forget about the numbers and start fresh. For me, it’s about his next start and what he can do in his next start, and go from there. I don’t want him to regress and go back the other way. I want him to worry about going 1-0 in his next start, and build up from there.”

In order to give Corbin more time to work between outings, Martinez said they’ll skip his next turn in the rotation, and send him back out there next Tuesday, giving him additional time to work with pitching coach Jim Hickey.

Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images

“For me, it is a tough decision, because he’s very competitive. And he takes the ball every five days,” Martinez said.

“He’s trying to sort some things out, and some days he looks really, really good. And the last few outings, he couldn’t get out of the first inning.”

But, the manager stressed, this doesn’t mean they’re giving up on the left-hander, who is in the fourth year of the 6-year/$140M deal he signed with the club in 2018-19.

“Because regardless of what anybody thinks,” Martinez said, “... he’s going to be one of our starters next year and the year after that. We’ve got to get him better.”