WASHINGTON — Tyler Anderson and Patrick Corbin, two left-handed pitchers with similar styles, arrived at Nationals Park on Tuesday having enjoyed very different seasons.
Washington’s right-hander, the lone healthy member of their Big Three left while Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg continue to battle injuries, allowed 15 runs over his first two starts. He looked like the weak link on a team expecting to contend. Anderson, meanwhile, didn’t give up that many runs in his first seven starts, the lefty early becoming one of the few brights spots on a team most expected to lose 100 games.
The season trajectories for Anderson and Corbin met and their paths crossed during an 8-1 Washington win, one that handed the Pirates their ninth consecutive loss and dropped them to 23-43 on the year.
Corbin enjoyed his best start of the season and one of the best pitching performances the Pirates have seen this season, tossing 8 1/3 innings and allowing one run on eight hits, walking one and striking out seven. Meanwhile, Anderson coughed up five runs on six hits in the first inning alone, and the Pirates were out of this one shortly after it started.
Nationals shortstop Trea Turner collected four hits, catcher Yan Gomes had a grand slam, and former Pirate Jordy Mercer — getting the start at third — enjoyed a 3-for-4 night.
The Nationals opened the game with a drumbeat of singles against Anderson, three in a row before he struck out Washington’s cleanup hitter, Ryan Zimmerman. The enthusiasm didn’t last long, as the next hitter, former Pirate Josh Harrison reached on a bloop single into right field that Gregory Polanco probably should have caught.
That’s when Gomes made the Pirates pay, crushing an elevated fastball from Anderson over the wall in left for a grand slam that pushed Washington in front, 5-0. The homer was the 13th allowed this season for Anderson. Only eight MLB pitchers have given up more.
Washington picked up another run off of Anderson in the fourth inning, when center fielder Victor Robles drew a leadoff walk, Corbin bunted him over, and he scored on a triple from shortstop Trea Turner.
It was tough to fault Anderson on the pitch, which he located high-and-outside while ahead 0-2. Hard to get burned there. But Turner, who had just two doubles and three RBIs in 13 games this month, was more than due, the right-hander driving the ball the other way, over Polanco’s head.
It looked like the Pirates might be able to score their first run of the game in the sixth inning, when Bryan Reynolds singed with two outs, and Jacob Stallings drilled a hard-hit ball down the third-base line. A utility guy now but still a strong defender, Mercer made a fabulous play to rob Stallings and keep the Pirates off the board.
Mercer’s play was actually the second fielding highlight from this one. The first came on a sinker liner off the bat of Corbin in the second. Reynolds ran a long way, dove forward and made the grab. It was yet another solid defensive play that makes you wonder why the Pirates weren’t willing to shift him from left to center sooner.
The outing from Anderson qualifies as his second-worst of the season, behind allowing nine earned runs on 10 hits (including three home runs) on May 21 in Atlanta. Anderson did stick around for six innings — he has not pitched fewer than five in a start this season — but allowed six earned runs on 10 hits with a walk and four strikeouts.
Corbin, on the other hand, was outstanding, using his slider and four-seam fastball to induce a bunch of early, weak contact for the Pirates, who haven’t exactly been an offensive juggernaut of late.
Pittsburgh advanced a runner just once to second base during the first six innings, and that was followed with Phillip Evans’ flyout to center. Reynolds hit into a double play to end the first. Polanco, Evans and Anderson (twice) all struck out during the first six frames.
Finally in the seventh, the Pirates scratched out a run. Polanco led off the inning with an infield single. He scored when Evans drove a low-and-outside fastball from Corbin the other way, and it fell just past a diving Robles in center. But that was it. Adam Frazier was used as a pinch-hitter and struck out to end the inning.
Corbin picked up Mercer after taking the mound for the eighth. Mercer made a one-out error, but Corbin struck out Reynolds and got Jacob Stallings to ground into a force out.
The concerning part here about Anderson is how much his trade value has potentially dropped. As recently as mid-May, Anderson was believed to be one of the Pirates’ best trade chips along with Frazier and Richard Rodriguez The other two are certainly still a big part of that conversation, but Anderson’s ERA keeps climbing and is now nearing the fives at 4.89.
