Patrick Corbin pitched seven scoreless innings, Washington jumped on Seattle starter Logan Gilbert for three runs in the first inning and the Nationals won another series with a 4-1 win over the Mariners on Wednesday.
Washington earned another upset victory in the series and added another layer to the growing frustration of Seattle’s underperforming season. The Nationals won two of three against the Mariners after doing the same in San Diego last weekend.
Corbin (5-9) was tremendous with a performance that was most reminiscent of the previous one in his career. For the first time in 17 starts this season, Corbin did not allow an earned run, and his nine strikeouts were a season-high.
Opponents were hitting .309 against Corbin to start the day, but the Mariners managed just five singles, three by catcher Tom Murphy. The last time Corbin pitched seven shutout innings was on Aug. 21, 2019 against Pittsburgh.
Seattle avoided being shutout when José Caballero homered leading off the eighth off Amos Willingham in the reliever’s major league debut. Still, it was another frustrating day for the Mariners, a team that was expected to compete but is mired in mediocrity as the season approaches halfway.
Losing two of three at home to the Nationals is arguably a new low point for Seattle. That may not be the case in the standings, as Seattle (38-41) is just three games under .500 and a good run of baseball would send the Mariners back into the wild-card conversation.
But perception-wise, it was a damaging series against a team that came to the Pacific Northwest with the worst record in the National League and highlighted Seattle’s shortcomings at the plate.
Gilbert (5-5) allowed four hits to the game’s first four batters, including an RBI double by Jeimer Candelario and a two-run single by Keibert Ruiz.
Ildemaro Vargas added an RBI double as part of an eventful sixth inning in which Washington manager Dave Martinez was thrown out for the second time in a week after Ruiz was called out on a play at the plate for running off the pitch. the baseline.
For the Nationals, third baseman Jeimer Candelario doubled in three at-bats and drove in one. For the Mariners, the Quisqueyan outfielders Julio Rodríguez and Teoscar Hernández both failed four times-