Newcomer Corbin impressive in debut (Nats lose 9-4)

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - If he was going to drive 2 1/2 hours to make his Nationals debut, Patrick Corbin might as well have made the most of the situation. And that's exactly what the club's new $140 million pitcher did this afternoon against the Braves.

Working quickly, efficiently and showing off his full repertoire, Corbin retired six of the seven batters he faced, cruising through two scoreless innings at ESPN's Wide World of Sports complex.

Given the option of staying back in West Palm Beach and facing live hitters on a back field, Corbin chose to make the long trip up Florida's Turnpike, along with new catcher Yan Gomes. The two paired up well and mowed down an Atlanta lineup loaded with regulars.

Corbin made quick work of Ender Inciarte, Ozzie Albies and Freddie Freeman in the bottom of the first. He needed only eight total pitches to retire all three on ground balls. Corbin then opened the bottom of the second by striking out reigning National League Rookie of the Year Ronald Acuña Jr. on a slider and catcher Tyler Flowers on a fastball.

Corbin appeared to have another 1-2-3 inning to his name, but Johan Camargo's hard grounder to third went under Matt Reynolds' glove and Camargo ultimately was credited with a double. Corbin responded by inducing a fly ball out of Charlie Culberson to end his afternoon, having thrown 27 pitches in total.

The Nationals gave their lefty a quick 1-0 lead thanks to some aggressiveness from the top of their lineup. Victor Robles, leading off today, singled on the afternoon's first pitch from Braves lefty Max Fried, took second when Wilmer Difo walked, stole third standing up and then scored on a wild pitch.

Robles crossed the plate again two innings later when Juan Soto ripped a two-run single to right to extend the Nats' lead to 3-0.

That lead was short-lived, though. Reliever J.J. Hoover gave all three runs back in the bottom of the fourth, with Freddie Freeman's two-run homer the big blow in the inning.

Update: This game is getting sloppier by the moment. The bottom of the sixth turned into a nightmare for reliever James Bourque, who was on the verge of escaping with a zero on the scoreboard but wound up allowing four runs to score. With two outs and two on, he got Austin Riley swinging at a pitch in the dirt. But when the ball skipped away from catcher Spencer Kieboom, Riley safely reached first base. Bourque then proceeded to walk Ryan LaMarre with the bases loaded and serve up a three-run double to Cristian Pache. Just like that, the Nationals trail 7-3 after six innings.

Final Update: Atlanta catcher Alex Jackson stroked a two-run double off right-hander Wil Crowe in the bottom of the seventh inning to extend the Braves' lead to 9-3. After a scoreless eighth inning from reliever Wander Suero, second baseman Jacob Wilson hit a line drive RBI single up the middle to bring the score to 9-4, which stood as the final.