Of course Patrick Corbin snaps Washington Nationals streak

The Washington Nationals had gone over a month without getting a win from a starting pitcher. With Patrick Corbin on the mound on Sunday, that did not seem likely to end.

Naturally, it was the much maligned Corbin who stopped that 43 game streak. He allowed two runs, only one of which was earned, on four hits and a walk, striking out five. Along the way, he picked up his seventh quality start in 26 outings.

Washington Nationals hope Patrick Corbin is turning the corner

That outing continued what has been a relatively solid run for Corbin. He had seemingly been on the verge of losing his spot in the rotation after failing to escape the first inning in two out of three starts, allowing six runs in both outings. That led the Nationals to skip his next start and work on things in the bullpen, hoping that this time, it would help.

Both Corbin and the Nationals said all the right things after those sessions. The pitches were coming out of his hand better and had better movement. Corbin was encouraged that he could put his struggles behind him. But that performance in the bullpen needed to translate to the game.

So far, so good. Corbin has allowed eight runs, seven earned, on 19 hits and five walks over 17.1 innings, striking out 11 batters. While those numbers may not be great, and he has allowed three homers in that span, this is one of the better stretches that the Nationals’ pitcher has had in the past two years.

It is just three outings. There is no guarantee that Corbin will continue to perform at a reasonably decent level. However, it is certainly encouraging that he is showing improvement. Now he just needs that to continue throughout the rest of the season.

It had been 43 games since the Washington Nationals got a win from a starting pitcher. Naturally, Patrick Corbin was the one to stop that streak from continuing.