Corbin gives up two homers, Smith departs after hit-by-pitch

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – What should be the biggest takeaway from Patrick Corbin’s 2023 spring debut? The home runs he surrendered on back-to-back pitches to Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in the top of the first of what wound up a 5-3 loss to the Cardinals? The two strikeouts he recorded after that? The fact he threw 16 of his 22 pitches for strikes before departing with two outs in the second?

This is the dilemma with all spring training outings, finding the right balance between process and results.

So, go to the source. What did Corbin think about it?

“I mean, it’s tough giving up those two homers, but I think overall I felt really good,” the Nationals left-hander said. “I thought the ball was coming out pretty good for my first start. Got swing and miss on all of my pitches. … First step, and I feel pretty good.”

You’re excused if you want to roll your eyes at that response, because you’ve heard it before from Corbin, after any number of poor starts over the last several years. Coming off a disastrous 2022, couldn’t he even put forth one clean inning to open his spring before raising doubts about his ability to turn things around?

The homers, for what it’s worth, were hit by two of the top-three finishers in last season’s National League MVP race. Both were hit to near straightaway center field, though both might have been caught at the wall if not for a 10 mph wind blowing out at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.

Which isn’t to excuse the two pitches Corbin threw that produced those results. The first was a 2-0 fastball up in the zone to Goldschmidt. The second was a first-pitch slider that stayed up to Arenado.

“I just look at where the pitches were,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We want him to throw the ball down. Both those pitches were up. We’ve got to get him to understand to pitch down. He can go up every now and again. But for the most part, he’s got to understand that he’s got to get the ball down.”

This, of course, has been a recurring problem for Corbin throughout his three-year decline from World Series Game 7 winner to statistically the worst starting pitcher in baseball. He can continue to feel good as he did this afternoon. But eventually, that has to translate into more consistently positive results.

“This is still early,” he said. “We’re going out there and trying to compete, but I know the hitters are still trying to get into it, and so are we. As long as you come out of it feeling good, just look at the stuff and look at the positives and not look into it too much. I feel pretty good. I feel healthy. Just continue to try to get better.”

Corbin has five more starts to get better before it counts.

* Dominic Smith had an eventful afternoon, all the more so considering it lasted less than four full innings.

The Nats first baseman hit a ball well in his first at-bat, robbed of a single by St. Louis second baseman Brendan Donovan. He nearly turned a nifty 3-6-3 double play with a nice pick of a sharp grounder, a strong throw to second and a just-too-late return throw back to him at first.

Then came the bottom of the fourth, when Smith was hit on the right leg by a fastball from Gordon Graceffo and understandably winced in pain.

Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras stood up and said something to Smith, who responded. From a distance, it looked like friendly banter. Until it became clear it wasn’t, the two jawing at each as a few people emerged from both dugouts just in case things really escalated.

“I was just bracing for the pitch, and it hit me,” Smith said. “I was just more like cringing ’cause it hurt. He said he didn’t hit me on purpose, go to first. I know he didn’t hit me on purpose. It still hurts. When you get hit by 95, whether it was by accident or on purpose, it’s gonna hurt. That’s all it was. I ended up going to first. That’s all it was.”

By the time Smith made it to first, though, Martinez had already come onto the field and signaled for head athletic trainer Paul Lessard. After a brief discussion, Lessard escorted Smith back to the dugout, ending his day early.

Smith was walking around the clubhouse fine later and said the pitch caught in right quad, though not far from his kneecap. He wanted to stay in the game, but he didn’t put up any fight.

Would it have been a different story if this was a regular season game?

“One hundred percent,” he said. “I was telling Davey I didn’t want to come out. But obviously it’s early in spring, he’s going to protect all of us, no matter what. That’s why he made the call. And I wasn’t going to argue too, too much with him. In the season, I’m not coming off the field. No shot. No way.”