Patrick Corbin didn’t let an early mistake define his latest outing at Coors Field.
Corbin recovered from giving a homer in the second pitch six strong innings, Victor Robles hit a three-run double, and the Washington Nationals beat the Colorado Rockies 6-3 on Tuesday night.
“I knew two runs wasn’t going to win the game and I only gave up two early,” Corbin said. “I knew our offense was going to put something on the board. It’s tough to keep runs off the board in this ballpark generally, so if I just minimized the damage and kept the score where it was, we’d have a good shot to be right back in it.”
Corbin (2-0) was right on that score. He gave up three runs — two earned — and five hits, and had a key base hit in Washington’s four-run third inning that allowed the Nationals to gain the lead. He struck out six and walked one, coming out on top at Coors Field, where he has had some tough outings in the past. He entered with a 6.55 ERA in 11 previous games at Colorado, including 10 starts.
Sean Doolittle got the last four outs for his third save.
“Corbin was awesome again,” Doolittle said. “Having pitched here a bunch, I think he handled it really well. They took an early lead and then he came back out and got a single and started a rally. I thought that was pretty cool. His pitch count was getting up there but he went back out and finished that sixth inning and that was huge for us, as a bullpen and as a team. We needed a start like that to bounce back after (Monday’s) loss.”
Washington scored two runs in the top of the ninth when Rockies reliever DJ Johnson walked Juan Soto with the bases loaded before hitting Howie Kendrick with a pitch.
Raimel Tapia homered for Colorado and Ryan McMahon had two hits.
Jeff Hoffman, recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to start in place of injured Kyle Freeland (finger blister), sailed though the first two innings only to run into trouble in the third. Corbin singled to lead off the third, starting a string of four straight hits capped by Robles’ three-run double.
“I was under control until things got out of hand in the third,” Hoffman said.
The hit parade prompted a mound visit from manager Bud Black, who spoke earlier in the day of the need for Hoffman to go fairly deep into the game after his bullpen saw four relievers throw six innings the night before.
“He reiterated the confidence he has in me,” Hoffman said, when asked what Black told him. “He told me my stuff was fine and that I had to slow down a little bit. That got me back on track.”
Hoffman (0-1) retired the next six batters he faced, though Kendrick’s sacrifice fly in the third boosted the Nationals’ lead to 4-2. Robles put himself in position to score on the sacrifice fly with a daring steal of third.
“I was able to pick up the sign from the catcher and read that it was going to be a breaking pitch, so I decided to go,” Robles said through a translator. “I got a good jump on the pitch.”
Hoffman also benefited from two exceptional plays in the field in fourth on a leaping catch at the wall by center fielder Ian Desmond that robbed Brian Dozier of at least extra bases and a tumbling catch into the stands of Yan Gomes’ foul ball by left fielder Tapia.
Colorado scored an unearned in the fifth to pull within one. Charlie Blackmon scored from second base when shortstop Wilmer Difo booted Nolan Arenado’s grounder deep in the hole.
The Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the second on Tapia’s second home run in two nights. McMahon was aboard with a single when Tapia drove a 1-0 offering from Corbin over the center-field fence.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Nationals: RHP Max Scherzer threw a bullpen session Tuesday and was expected to have another light throwing session on Wednesday. He remains on pace to make his scheduled start Friday after being struck under his left arm by a foul ball last Sunday against Miami. … INF Anthony Rendon was not in the starting lineup for a third game after being hit on his left elbow by a pitch at Miami on Saturday.
Rockies: LHP Freeland was scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday as he continues working his way back from a blister on his left middle finger that landed him on the 10-day injured list.
UP NEXT
Nationals: RHP Anibal Sanchez (0-2, 4.91 ERA) has gone 4-1 with a 2.28 ERA in seven career starts against the Rockies.
Rockies: RHP German Marquez (2-1, 2.25 ERA) enters Wednesday’s series finale with the fourth-lowest ERA in the NL.
AROUND THE MAJORS – TUESDAY
—It was quite a night for New York Mets starter Zack Wheeler, who worked seven shutout innings and slammed his first major league home run in a 9-0 romp over the Phillies. Wheeler smacked a solo shot and added a two-run double to finish with three RBIs. He also fanned 11 while limiting Philadelphia to five hits.
Wheeler makes the Mets the first NL team in more than 110 years to have three pitchers homer in the first 25 games of a season. His blast followed homers by Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. Todd Frazier’s grand slam put the Mets ahead 8-0 in the fifth. The Phils have dropped five of six to fall one game behind the NL East-leading Mets.
— Yasiel Puig hit a two-run homer and Jose Peraza delivered a go-ahead, two-run double as the Reds won for the fourth time in five games, 7-6 over the Braves. Puig also lifted a sacrifice fly to cap a four-run sixth that put Cincinnati ahead, 7-4. Tucker Barnhart homered and Joey Votto reached base four times in his first game since missing two straight with back tightness.
— Paul DeJong hit a tiebreaking, leadoff homer in the eighth inning to push the Cardinals past the Brewers, 4-3. Yadier Molina had three hits and two RBIs to help St. Louis overcome Travis Shaw’s two home runs. Orlando Arcia also homered for Milwaukee, which has dropped six of its last seven.
— José Quintana earned his third straight win by limiting the Dodgers to a pair of runs and four hits over seven innings of the Cubs’ 7-2 victory. Willson Contreras hit a three-run double in Chicago’s four-run first, and Anthony Rizzo added a two-run drive in the second. Kenta Maeda was reached for six runs over four innings as Los Angeles lost for just the second time in nine games.
— Jarrod Dyson dived around catcher Francisco Cervelli to score the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning of the Diamondbacks’ 2-1 victory at Pittsburgh. Plate umpire Gerry Davis originally called Dyson out, but the call was quickly overturned on review. Luke Weaver struck out seven and won his second straight start, allowing one run over 6 2/3s.
— The Padres were 6-3 winners against the Mariners as Franmil Reyes homered twice and had three RBIs. Austin Hedges’ two-run homer bounced out of center fielder Mallex Smith’s glove and over the fence to help San Diego beat Seattle for the fifth straight time. Rookie Nick Margevicius allowed two runs and four hits in five innings to even his record at 2-2.
— Joe Panik homered and drove in three runs before the Giants held off the Blue Jays, 7-6. Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria hit solo homers while San Francisco built a 7-2 lead. Rowdy Tellez hit an eighth-inning grand slam to make it a one-run game.
— Jalen Beeks replaced opener Ryne Stanek in the second and struck out seven in 4 2/3 shutout innings of the Rays’ 5-2 win against the Royals. Mike Zunino homered for the second straight game, provided three of Tampa Bay’s seven hits and drove in two runs. The AL East leaders clinched their seventh series win in eight tries and extended their winning streak against the Royals to 10 games.
— Luke Voit homered twice and Mike Ford smacked his first big-league blast as the Yankees topped the Angels, 7-5 for their fifth straight win. Domingo Germán allowed an unearned run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings to move to 4-1. Justin Bour hit a grand slam off Chad Green in the eighth, but Zack Britton pitched the ninth for his first save.
— Jose Altuve smashed a three-run homer and Alex Bregman added three RBIs as the Astros rallied for a 10-4 win over the Twins. Bregman’s sacrifice fly put Houston up 5-4 before the Astros stopped a three-game skid. The Astros turned a close game into a rout with a four-run eighth, highlighted by Altuve’s ninth home run this season.
— Matt Chapman belted his seventh home run and walked three times as the Athletics outscored the Rangers, 11-5. Marcus Semien had a two-run double as part of a six-run fourth. Stephen Piscotty matched his career high with four hits and scored three times for Oakland.
— Dwight Smith Jr. hit a three-run homer and the Orioles ended a four-game slide by drubbing the White Sox, 9-1. Renanto Núñez, Chris Davis and Joey Rickard also homered off Ivan Nova, who was rocked for nine runs over four innings. Andrew Cashner gave up one run, five hits and a walk over seven innings to win his fourth straight decision and help Baltimore win for just the second time in 12 home games.
— Pablo López allowed just two hits over a season-high 5 1/3 innings as the Marlins earned a 3-1 win over the Indians. Jorge Alfaro homered on reliever Neil Ramírez’s first pitch, moments after Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco left with a bruised left knee. Miami ended a three-game skid and sent the Indians to their third straight loss.
— Josh Harrison hit a tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth and scored an insurance run later in the inning to help the Tigers knock off the Red Sox, 7-4 in Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader. Matthew Boyd combined with three relievers on a five-hitter as the Tigers kept Red Sox ace Chris Sale winless this season.
— Spencer Turnbull pitched five shutout innings for his first major league win as the Tigers beat the Red Sox, 4-2 to complete a sweep of the twinbill. Brandon Dixon greeted Marcus Walden with a three-run double in the third inning after Detroit loaded the bases against Hector Velázquez. Dixon and Jeimer Candelario each had three hits for the Tigers, who are the first team to sweep a doubleheader from Boston since 2015.