Corbin deals, Scherzer departs, Nats rout Mets (updated)

NEW YORK – Patrick Corbin and Max Scherzer will forever be linked as rotation mates for a World Series champion, the two of them accounting for eight innings in Game 7 in Houston, but to say their respective careers have diverged since then is a gross understatement.

While Scherzer has continued to pitch at an elite level and now is seeking another title as a member of the Mets’ elite rotation, Corbin is stuck on a rebuilding Nationals team, unable to right a ship that went wayward long ago.

For this one night, though, it was Corbin who rose to the occasion with seven standout innings while Scherzer departed after only five frames when he felt “fatigued on his left side,” according to the Mets. And when Lane Thomas launched a go-ahead homer off reliever Adam Ottavino in the top of the eighth and his teammates churned out five more insurance runs in the ninth, it was Corbin who emerged with an unexpected 7-1 victory at Citi Field.

With perhaps his best performance of the season, Corbin held the Mets firmly in check, earning his second straight win as he attempts to close out a miserable 2022 campaign on a positive note.

"We've worked diligently with him, and he's doing just exactly what we thought he could do," manager Davey Martinez said. "A lot of it had to do with just not giving up on him. We stayed with him, and he was encouraged by the fact we were not going to give up on him. He's going to be here for another year or so. We've got to continue to work and continue to get him better. ... I'm proud of him, and I'm glad things are starting to work out for him."

Corbin was aided by a Nationals lineup that took the lead with two solo homers and didn’t let the three outs they ran themselves into on the bases come back to haunt them.

Thomas’ eighth-inning shot to left gave his team (and his starter) a 2-1 lead, and was 15th homer of the season, a number surpassed by a Nats hitter only by Juan Soto, who hit 21 home runs before he was traded to the Padres one month ago.

"I feel like he's had a handful of starts like that this year, that we haven't really come through for him late," Thomas said of Corbin. "It's just good that it happened finally for him. Hopefully he keeps pitching like that, and we keep scoring some late runs to give him a chance to win some games."

Though Corbin’s pitch count sat at a mere 85 after seven innings, Martinez decided not to take any chances and turned the rest of the game over to his bullpen right there.

Carl Edwards Jr. escaped a jam in the bottom of the eighth to preserve the slim lead. Kyle Finnegan was poised to pitch the ninth in search of his ninth save, but before he could do that the rest of the team scored five runs in the top of the inning to turn a once-tight ballgame into a surprise rout.

"We didn't have to use Finnegan there," Thomas said. "We can use him tomorrow. It's awesome."

In search of his 200th career win, 92 of which came in a Nationals uniform over the last seven seasons, Scherzer was predictably amped up when he took the mound before a large Saturday night crowd, which roared after he struck out Thomas to begin the game.

But then came a familiar sight for Scherzer: a first-inning homer. Luis García did it to him this time, pouncing on a first-pitch fastball and driving it 411 feet to right-center to bring the energy in the ballpark down several notches and give the Nats a 1-0 lead. (García would finish with a career-high four hits in total, adding a pair of doubles and a single to his homer.)

"I stay focused with him," García said of his approach vs. Scherzer, via interpreter Octavio Martinez. "I always look for a good pitch to hit, try to stay up the middle or away with him. And I'm always looking for that pitch in the zone I can take advantage of."

Scherzer wouldn’t give up another run, but he was aided by a pair of outs the Nationals made on the bases. César Hernández, after singling with one out in the second, was thrown out trying to swipe an extra base. One inning later, with runners on first and second, García hit a check-swing popup to short that Francisco Lindor purposely let drop in front of him. Second base umpire Manny Gonzalez did not signal for the Infield Fly Rule, but both C.B. Bucknor at first base and Stu Scheurwater at third base did. CJ Abrams, the lead baserunner, didn’t know what to do, so he tried to advance and wound up being thrown out to end the inning.

"We talked to CJ, and he didn't hear anything," Martinez said. "He's not used to looking for the umpire; he's looking for the ball. He took off running. We explained to him what he needs to do. But it's tough. If the umpires don't call it right away and they don't scream, it's a tough decision."

Whether the proper call was made or not, the unusual play reinvigorated Scherzer, who proceeded to retire seven straight batters from that point on. He walked off the mound at the end of the fifth, his pitch count only 67, seemingly poised to keep going deep into the night.

But when the sixth inning arrived, Tommy Hunter came trotting in from the Mets bullpen as Scherzer departed for the clubhouse with perhaps a recurrence of the left oblique strain that sidelined him earlier this season. It matched his shortest outing in terms of innings, and his final pitch count was by far his lowest of the year.

Scherzer later told reporters he expects to make his next start as scheduled but didn't want to take a chance of aggravating his side by staying in tonight's game.

"Even a little bit of risk was too much risk," he said. "Even though I felt good enough to probably go out there for the sixth, it just wasn’t smart."

Who would’ve thought, then, that Scherzer would be outdueled on this night by his former rotation mate, the one who entered with a league-high 17 losses and 6.56 ERA? To his credit, Corbin was on point from the outset. And interestingly enough, he did it in a manner unconventional to his typical pitching approach.

Rather than turning to his trademark slider when he needed to make a big pitch, Corbin instead threw almost exclusively sinkers, many of them up in the zone. It was unusual, but it worked.

"It wasn't necessarily the plan," the lefty said. "But I was working both sides of the plate pretty well. I was able to go inside with fastballs a lot, get ahead, allow them to swing. I was able to pitch deep in the game, and keep the pitch count down." 

Eduardo Escobar produced New York’s lone run off Corbin, turning on a 1-0 slider in the bottom of the third for a leadoff homer. Corbin shook it off and kept pounding the strike zone with sinkers that averaged 94 mph and produced some quick outs.

Corbin completed the third inning on 35 pitches. He completed the sixth on 78 pitches. Then he needed only seven pitches to retire the side in the seventh, leaving the game tied and the crowd restless. By night's end, Mets fans would be booing and heading to the exits early.

"It was a packed stadium out there," Corbin said. "You get some energy. When I'm in between the lines, I just like to compete and try to give us the best chance to win. No matter what our record is, that's my job: To go out there and do the best I can."