Corbin labors, Kieboom presses, Bell homers again

Patrick Corbin has made three starts this spring. And he has faced the Marlins three times this spring.

That's not what anyone would consider an ideal scenario, but there's not much the Nationals can do about it in this modified Grapefruit League schedule that includes only four opponents who train close to West Palm Beach, Fla.

Corbin's first start (two innings, one run allowed on March 6) went perfectly fine. His second (three scoreless innings on March 11) went much better. His third (four runs, eight baserunners in 3 2/3 innings tonight) did not.

Whether that had anything to do with familiarity after three head-to-head matchups in 10 days, who knows? Corbin was trying to think less about that than about the work he needs to finish before making his season debut in 2 1/2 weeks.

"It seems like they came out swinging a little bit, especially early in the count after that first batter," Corbin said during his post-start Zoom session with reporters. "But overall felt pretty good. Happy to get to 70 pitches. That was good. Just hopefully continue to build on that. That's really the most important thing right now."

It's the classic "Just glad to get my work in" mantra for a pitcher who struggles in a spring training start. And there's nothing wrong with that. It happens to everyone, and it's rarely a reflection of anything to come once the games matter in April.

But Corbin's outing tonight didn't feature a lot of highlights. The Marlins indeed jumped all over him, at one point putting the first pitch in play in four out of five at-bats. And the fifth at-bat only lasted two pitches.

Included during that stretch was a leadoff homer by Joe Dunand, who shocked Corbin by blasting a first-pitch curveball in the top of the third. Only five days earlier, the left-hander talked about how effective that low-60s pitch can be early in an at-bat, catching an unsuspecting hitter off-guard for a quick strike. Dunand wasn't caught off guard this time.

"That's got to be the hardest hit ball I've seen on that (pitch)," Corbin said. "Sometimes guys don't really swing at it. Or you get a called strike or something like that. But that was ... he stayed back on it, hit it really well. I don't know, it's good to see that, maybe. All I can do is try to learn from that and throw it better next time."

By the time Corbin reached the fourth inning for the first time this spring, the Marlins became patient and wound up drawing three walks while driving his pitch count up to 70.

"When I went out to the mound and talked to him, he said he felt fine," manager Davey Martinez said. "He wanted to keep going, but I thought: 'He's at 70 pitches. That's good.' I thought he threw the ball pretty good. He missed some pitches that I thought could've gone either way, so his pitch count got up."

Here's maybe the best silver lining to Corbin's start tonight: He won't be facing the Marlins again this spring.

"I think my next one will be against another team," he said. "So that'll be good."

* The microscope continues to focus on Carter Kieboom, and it's only intensifying as the young third baseman struggles to get his bat going this spring.

Kieboom had another rough night at the plate, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. He's now batting .160 (4-for-25, one triple, one homer) in Grapefruit League play, and with every outsider wondering if he could lose the starting third base job designated for him, it's not unfair to wonder if he's feeling the heat.

"Down in spring training, I don't look for results, as far as getting hits and stuff," Martinez said. "I want him to go up there and relax and hit the ball hard. That's all I'm asking for him to do down here. And then just have good at-bats. He might be pressing a little bit. But he needs to go out there and show me he can put good at-bats together. That's what he needs to do."

It's easy for a manager to preach that approach, but is it hard for a young player trying to prove his worth to focus not on results but on process?

"Trea (Turner), you think he's having a bad spring (.200 batting average)," Martinez said. "But before today, he lines out once or twice a game. To me, those are good at-bats. He's taking his walks. Those are good at-bats. I just want to see Carter go up there and have good at-bats, make the routine plays and have fun."

* The loudest noise to come out of The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches during the Marlins' 4-3 win came off Josh Bell's bat. The first baseman launched an opposite-field homer, his second of the spring, and the crack of that bat distinguished itself from others.

"That sounded like opening day of duck season," Martinez remarked to Bell. "It was really loud."