WASHINGTON (AP) — Patrick Corbin won consecutive starts for the first time since last summer and Lane Thomas had a go-ahead, two-run single in the fifth inning that led the Washington Nationals over the Detroit Tigers 5-2 Saturday and stopped a four-game losing streak.
Corbin (3-5) allowed two runs and six hits in six innings against the Tigers, the only big league team he had never faced. He struck out three, reaching 1,500 in his career when he fanned Jonathan Scoop in the sixth.
Coming off a win over the New York Mets, Corbin won consecutive starts for the first time since beating Cincinnati on Aug. 28 and the Mets on Sept. 3.
Carl Edwards Jr., Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan finished with hitless relief, with Finnegan getting his ninth save in 11 chances to finish a game that took 2 hours, 3 minutes.
Jeimer Candelario homered and hit a run-scoring double for Washington, which fell behind when Spencer Torkelson hit a two-run homer in the first.
Alex Faedo (0-2) gave up three runs and five hits in five innings. Detroit had won three of four.
After Candelario's fourth-inning homer, Thomas' single past diving shortstop Javier Báez gave the Nationals a 3-2 lead in the fifth. Thomas had three hits and has reached base in 17 straight games.
Keibert Ruiz added an RBI single in the sixth and Candelario doubled in the eighth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: LHP Tarik Skubal (left elbow strain) threw a bullpen session and will throw another next week in Kansas City.
Nationals: RHP Chad Kuhl (pain the ball of right foot) was reinstated from the injured list. Prior to being placed on the injured list, Kuhl was 0-2 with a 9.41 ERA in five appearances.
UP NEXT
Tigers LHP Joey Wentz (1-3, 6.38 ERA) opposes Nationals RHP Josiah Gray (3-5, 2.73) in the series finale on Sunday. Gray has pitched seven innings in each of his past two starts.
