Washington Nationals drop opener with New York Mets in nation’s capital, 4-2 final…

Davey Martinez’s club led 2-0 after five, but Carl Edwards, Jr. struggled in his debut with the Nationals and the Mets scored three in the sixth in a 4-2 win.

Corbin vs New York:

Patrick Corbin’s pitch count got up into the 90s in two starts before his outing against the Colorado Rockies in Coors Field last week, but it was 92 in 5 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched, and 90 in six innings in those two turns in the rotation.

Going up against the Rockies, he threw a total of 94 in eight innings on the mound, giving up nine hits and five runs, three earned, but after the 5-2 loss on the road, manager Davey Martinez had nothing but praise for his starter’s work.

“I mean, forget about the outcome of the game,” Martinez told reporters in Denver, “Patrick was awesome today. He did everything we asked him to do, he attacked the strike zone, he had six innings with 15 pitches or less, faced 24 batters with three pitches or less, I mean, you can’t ask for more than what he did today, and he finished the game.”

It was an eight-inning complete game, yes, but still a complete game in the record books.

How was Corbin able to work so efficiently?

“Like I said, attacking the strike zone, not being afraid to throw strikes,” Martinez added, “not being afraid to miss bats. He was good today.”

Corbin threw 42 of 65 pitches for strikes (65% strike%) over four scoreless to start the series opener with the New York Mets in D.C. tonight, striking out five of 16 batters and giving up a couple walks and three hits, and he came out for the with a 1-0 lead, courtesy of a 2-out, RBI double by Maikel Franco in the home-half of the fourth, and worked around leadoff and one-out walks, stranding both runners to complete five scoreless on 86 pitches overall.

Not exactly a clean outing, but a scoreless one in the end…

Patrick Corbin’s Line: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 Ks, 86 P, 51 S, 2/4 GO/FO.

Carrasco in D.C.:

Carlos Carrasco tossed 5 ²⁄₃ strong when he faced the Nationals during the season-opening series in D.C. back in early April, and the 35-year-old right-hander took the mound tonight in the nation’s capital coming off an outing against the Braves in which he threw 8.0 scoreless on 96 pitches, leaving him with a 3.30 ERA, a 2.88 FIP, six walks, 28 Ks, and a .212/.265/.319 line against in five starts and 30 IP in his second season with the Mets after he was acquired in the 2021 deal that brought him and Francisco Lindor to New York from Cleveland.

Carrasco threw three scoreless on 39 pitches to start his second outing of the year against the Mets’ NL East rivals, but he gave up back-to-back, one-out singles by Josh Bell and Nelson Cruz in the home-half of the fourth, and after a force on the ground ball Yadiel Hernández hit to first, Maikel Franco doubled to center field, bringing in Bell, 1-0, before Hernández was thrown out at home for out No. 3 of a 12-pitch frame which left the Mets’ starter at 51 total after four.

Riley Adams got all of a hanging, full-count slider from Carrasco with one out in the fifth, and hit it out to left field, 399 feet from home for his 2nd of the 2022 and a 2-0 Nats’ lead.

Carrasco came back out in the bottom of the sixth with a 3-2 lead, after his teammates put a rally together in the top of the inning, and the veteran starter worked around a Juan Soto single for a scoreless, 10-pitch frame which left him at 76 pitches overall.

Dee Strange-Gordon got a two-out bunt down with Carrasco back out on the mound in the bottom of the seventh, and that was it for the Mets’ right-hander, who was up to 83 pitches after the bunt hit…

Carlos Carrasco’s Line: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 Ks, 1 HR, 83 P, 57 S, 7/2 GO/FO.

Bullpen Action:

Carl Edwards, Jr., called up this afternoon, took over with a 2-0 lead in the sixth, and the 30-year-old right-hander gave up back-to-back singles by Pete Alonso and J.D. Davis to start in the top of the inning. Edwards, Jr. struck Starling Marte out with a 91 MPH 2-2 sinker for out No. 1, but a walk to Eduardo Escobar loaded them up for Jeff McNeil, who hit a sharp one to first base where it ate up Josh Bell, two-run error/double (pending scorer’s call), 2-2 game.

With runners on second and third base and one out, James McCann hit a 94 MPH 1-2 heater from the Nats’ reliever to to right field for a go-ahead sac fly, 3-2.

Steve Cishek worked around a throwing error by Dee Strange-Gordon at short and a two-out walk in a scoreless top of seventh.

Drew Smith replaced Carlos Carrasco on the mound after a 2-out single by Dee Strange-Gordon in the bottom of the seventh, but Strange-Gordon got thrown out trying to steal second with Riley Adams at the plate.

Erasmo Ramirez worked around a one-out single in the top of the eighth.

Smith returned to the mound in the bottom of the eighth and got two outs around a walk to Victor Robles.

Mets’ skipper Buck Showalter went to reliever Joely Rodríguez against Juan Soto with a man on first (Robles), and popped him up to foul territory off third with the first pitch he threw.

Mark Cahna reached on an error by Maikel Franco to lead off the ninth, and took third on a single to right by Francisco Lindor, who advanced to second on the throw in.

Pete Alonso got the intentionals, loading them up with no one out, and J.D. Davis hit a sac fly to right field, 4-2 NY.

Edwin Díaz gave up a one-out single by Nelson Cruz, but got a game-ending double play out of Yadiel Hernández to end this one…

Nationals now 10-21