The Nationals have welcomed plenty of former teammates back to D.C. in recent years, especially those who were part of the 2019 World Series championship roster. Tonight, though, offers maybe the most intriguing return yet: Patrick Corbin.
Corbin is by no means the best – or the most popular – former Nationals player to come back to town. But he was here much longer after the World Series than anyone else, and nobody had more mixed results over that length of time. The Nats do not win the title if not for Corbin’s performance all season and especially that October. But his performance the ensuing five years didn’t come close to matching the first.
Now the left-hander is a member of the Rangers rotation, with much better baseline stats (3.71 ERA, 1.256 WHIP) through 10 starts despite peripheral numbers that are remarkably similar to what he did here. What kind of reaction will he get from the D.C. crowd? How will he pitch tonight? Either way, it should be fascinating to watch.
The Nationals, who have Michael Soroka on the mound, made a roster move this afternoon. Jacob Young is officially back from the 10-day injured list and will be in tonight’s lineup, back in center field. Daylen Lile, who had his moments while up here over the last two weeks, was optioned back to Triple-A Rochester to clear the spot for Young (who will face some pressure now to be better offensively if he wants to retain his starting job long-term).
WASHINGTON NATIONALS vs. TEXAS RANGERS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Chance of storms, 81 degrees, wind 6 mph out to left field
RANGERS
Lineup TBA
LHP Patrick Corbin
NATIONALS
Lineup TBA
RHP Michael Soroka