"Uncharacteristic" walks doom Corbin in the end

One inning was all it took for the Cardinals to turn the tables on left-hander Patrick Corbin and the Nationals. Down 3-0 in the fifth, St. Louis tallied six runs on five hits and two walks as 10 batters came to the plate.

Marcell Ozuna provided the highlight knock, a two-run single that pushed the Cards to a 4-3 lead.

Corbin (2-1) said the key to the inning unraveling were the two walks issued to Matt Carpenter and Paul DeJong. Coupled with a single allowed to Paul Goldschmidt, those free passes loaded the bases for Ozuna and opened the door to a huge St. Louis inning.

"The two walks didn't help," Corbin acknowledged. "Just was frustrated with that Carpenter at-bat there. At least try to let him put it in play and see what happens. But I felt good today. Like I said, the walks, two in that fifth inning, then they had a couple ground balls that got through there. Just have to forget about this one, move on and just take the positives."

José Martínez slapped a double to left field to score Ozuna. Yadier Molina added a single up the middle that scored Martínez. The Cards had the 6-3 lead and that would be enough to win the game.

The six runs allowed were double the number Corbin had allowed in any other start this season. The previous high was three runs allowed April 6 at Citi Field against the Mets. Corbin allowed four walks, which also was a season-high.

"It was uncharacteristic walks," said manager Davey Martinez. "I just spoke to him a little bit, and he said the walks got him and he couldn't find the plate, and when he did he said I left the ball pretty much down the middle.

"(H)e's been really good, it's just one of those nights for Pat. I just told him hey, you'll be right back out there in five days so don't worry about it."

It was too bad the end occurred in the fifth because the first four frames seemed like a normal start for Corbin: only one hit allowed, on a Martínez single in the fourth. Corbin allowed a couple of walks but no runs in the first three innings.

"I thought the ball was coming out good," Corbin said. "I thought I had a sharp slider. I was happy with how my stuff was. Just with two outs there, lefty up, gotta just do a better job there. Didn't really throw too many close pitches there and they were able to start a rally. It's a good offense over there."

Corbin was able to make his counterpart, Cardinals starter Michael Wacha, work for his outs. A nine-pitch walk to Corbin in the second was a major part of the Nats rally that led to the 3-0 advantage. He took Wacha for nine pitches again in the fourth, but eventually struck out. Corbin would not use those long at-bats as something that taxed him physically when he went to the mound in the fifth.

"I felt fine. I don't think it bothered me at all," Corbin said. "I felt good. I felt strong. I thought the ball was coming out pretty good today. Usually don't walk too many guys. Just made some close pitches, fell behind some of these guys, and they made me pay for it.

"It's always good to make them throw pitches there, and I was able to work a walk there. We work on it every day, so it's something that this staff tries to get better at every day."