For Corbin, long road trip for spring debut worth the time

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - He could've stayed back in West Palm Beach, skipped the 2 1/2-hour drive up the turnpike and faced live hitters on a back field or something. Veteran pitchers, certainly those who just signed a $140 million contract, aren't typically asked to make long road trips in spring training.

Patrick Corbin, though, wanted to pitch against the Braves today. He wanted to stay on his regular schedule, wanted to make his Nationals debut and not get any kind of special treatment.

"It wasn't too bad," the left-hander said. "I got to come up here yesterday and have dinner and get ready for a start. I think you want to face the guys that you're going to face during the course of the season. It didn't really cross my mind (to pass on the trip)."

It fits right in with Corbin's persona as perhaps the most down-to-earth mega-millionaire in the majors. He's a part of this team, and it's his job to pitch every fifth day in preparation for the regular season.

"It tells me a lot about the character he has," said manager Davey Martinez, whose club wound up losing 9-4.

Corbin may convey an Average Joe persona in the clubhouse, but once he was on the mound this afternoon he quickly showed off why he was the top pitcher on the free agent market this winter.

Over the course of two quick innings, Corbin cruised through a Braves lineup loaded with regulars. He retired six of the seven batters he faced, and the only one who reached (Johan Camargo) did so via a sharp grounder under third baseman Matt Reynolds' glove.

Otherwise, Corbin dominated. He retired Ender Inciarte, Ozzie Albies and Freddie Freeman in order in the bottom of the first, each on ground balls. He struck out reigning National League Rookie of the Year Ronald Acuña Jr. on a nasty slider to open the bottom of the second, then struck out catcher Tyler Flowers looking at a fastball.

"It was good," said the lefty, who threw 17 of his 27 pitches for strikes. "Fastball command was great today. For the first time out there, being able to throw everything in a real game and be able to see some of their veteran hitters over there was all positive."

Corbin showed off his full repertoire, counterbalancing a 90-mph fastball with sharp-breaking sliders and curveballs, plus his lesser-used changeup.

"What I like about him is he's not afraid to throw all his pitches in different counts," Martinez said. "That's always good, and he can throw them for strikes."

This wasn't exactly a soft opening for Corbin. He not only faced a representative Braves lineup, but a representative Braves lineup he's going to have to face plenty of times this year and for five more years after that.

Again, he had no qualms about the assignment, even in late February.

"I think every time you go out there, yeah, (you want to face big-name hitters)," he said. "Those are the guys you're going to face during the year. It was good to come here and face kind of their lineup that they'll have against me during the season. It was good to go out there, see how my stuff played."

And with that, Corbin grabbed his stuff, departed the clubhouse and headed for his car. Another 2 1/2-hour drive home awaited for this winter's highest-paid pitcher.