San Francisco Giants outfielder Michael Conforto and Washington Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin will continue their longtime, one-sided rivalry when the clubs play the middle contest of a three-game series on Tuesday night.
The Nationals took the opener 5-1 on Monday in San Francisco, doing all their scoring within the first eight batters of the game. CJ Abrams’ two-run single was the big hit of the uprising.
Trying to pick up where Nationals rookie starter Jake Irvin left off, Corbin (1-4, 5.17 ERA) will seek to build on his best outing of the season, a 4-3 home win over the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. Corbin allowed just two runs and three hits in seven innings but didn’t get a decision.
Corbin is 0-2 over his past four starts, allowing 10 earned runs in 24 1/3 innings.
“I guess I don’t really think about that,” Corbin said of having an 18-46 record over the past four seasons. “There’s a lot of ups and downs in baseball. I’ve had success, and I’ve definitely had a lot of failures, too. You try to learn from it. My job is to take the ball every fifth day and continue to do that until they tell me to stop.”
With 285 outings (267 starts) in 11 seasons, Corbin has seen nearly as many different hitters as anyone in the game. But one player he’s faced more than most is Conforto.
The former New York Met has faced Corbin 32 times over the years; only four pitchers have opposed Conforto more often. Conforto has won the battle frequently, going 10-for-31 (.323) with two doubles, five home runs and 12 RBIs.
The home run and RBI totals are the most Conforto has against any pitcher, while the totals are tied for second and tied for first, respectively, among the figures Corbin has allowed against any opponent.
Corbin, a former Arizona Diamondback, will make his 26th career start against the Giants, equaling the most he has made vs. any club. The 33-year-old veteran has gone 9-9 with a 3.32 ERA in 27 appearances against the Giants overall.
Corbin is slated to oppose Giants right-hander Logan Webb (2-5, 3.80 ERA), who will seek a third win in four starts after opening the season 0-4. He has held the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros to two runs apiece in his last three outings, during which he went 2-1.
The 26-year-old has never lost to the Nationals, going 2-0 with a 3.45 ERA in three starts. Both the wins came last April in back-to-back outings, games the Giants won 12-3 and 9-3.
The Nationals did manage 18 hits in 12 2/3 innings vs. Webb in those contests. The seven current members of the Nationals who have faced Webb have ripped him to the tune of a .357 average (10-for-28).
Washington collected 11 hits in its Monday win while also turning four double plays.
Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani rebounded from the five-run first to complete seven innings, something for which manager Gabe Kapler was thankful.
“We really do have a fresh bullpen going into (the Tuesday game),” Kapler said. “That’s the only silver lining from (the Monday loss).”
–Field Level Media
