Two long balls doom Patrick Corbin, D-backs
Aug 29, 2012, 11:02 PM | Updated: Aug 30, 2012, 12:11 am
Patrick Corbin was cruising.
The rookie left-hander had given up just two hits in six shutout innings of baseball Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds at Chase Field. Then the seventh inning happened.
Todd Frazier laced a one-out double to left and Chris Heisey followed with a two-run homer to center field, tying the game at 2-2. That tie was short-lived as two batters later, Cincinnati catcher Dioner Navarro homered to left to give the Reds the lead.
Corbin followed that by giving up a single to his counterpart Mat Latos and that would end his day. The Reds went on to win 6-2, handing the D-backs their second straight sweep in the process.
“It’s just frustrating, going out there throwing six scoreless and then in the seventh inning, they get to you,” Corbin said. “That’s baseball. That’s how it is.”
Manager Kirk Gibson had no reason to believe that the wheels were falling off for Corbin in the seventh.
“He was rolling,” Gibson said. “It happened very quick, he got behind Heisey. His sinker had been dominant all day, but it got away from him quick.
“He’s a young kid and we’ve seen another game or two where he’s had a low pitch count getting into the seventh where that’s happened, but that’s something he’s going to have to learn to deal with.”
Corbin did set a new career-high with eight strikeouts on the day, but was saddled with his second straight loss and sixth on the season.
“We just haven’t been able to put wins on the board and whether it’s our pitching or hitting, it’s not all clicking right now,” Corbin said. “I know we have the team that can do it, we’ve shown that throughout this year, we’ve just got to keep it going and keep grinding.”
The Diamondbacks wrapped up their hellish 10-game homestand with a 2-8 mark. They’ve won just four of their last 17 home games. As of Wednesday afternoon, they trail the first-place San Francisco Giants by nine games.
Arizona now hits the road for a 10-game trip that starts Thursday in Los Angeles against the Dodgers and reigning Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw.
Arizona Sports Kyndra de St. Aubin contributed to this report
