Texas Rangers left-hander Patrick Corbin came within two outs of recording a quality start on Wednesday in a 3-1 win against the Los Angeles Angels. As it turns out, Corbin even taking the mound qualified as a personal victory after a bite suffered earlier in the week had him struggling to walk around the clubhouse when he arrived for the game.
“We weren’t even sure if he was going to pitch,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told MLB’s Kennedi Landry on Thursday. “He had a bite. He could hardly walk when he came into the clubhouse. Some kind of venom got in there. Not sure if it was a spider or what. He was 50/50 on whether he would make the start or not.”
Corbin confirmed he wasn’t sure what bit him, but said his foot was “really swollen.” The Rangers medical staff was able to “kind of work it out” and “maintain it throughout the day.” The spot, he said, remains sore. There’s no present indication that he’ll miss any additional time because of the bite, however.
Corbin, 35, has now pitched twice for the Rangers. He’s amassed a 3.86 ERA (102 ERA+) by allowing four runs (all earned) on 10 hits and three walks. He’s struck out six batters.
Corbin had previously spent six years with the Washington Nationals, where he took part in the 2019 World Series victory. Fate wasn’t as kind to him thereafter: in his final four years with the Nationals, he compiled a 71 ERA+ and finished four wins below replacement, according to Baseball Reference’s calculations.
The Rangers entered Thursday with an 11-7 record, putting them in first place in the American League West. Texas’ rotation is currently without Jon Gray (fractured wrist), Jack Leiter (blister), and Cody Bradford (sprained elbow).
