WASHINGTON — Patrick Corbin pitched six sharp innings on his 35th birthday, Juan Yepez hit a three-run homer and the Washington Nationals began the second half of the season by beating the Cincinnati Reds 8-5 on Friday night.
Corbin (2-9) picked up a rare victory, retiring the first eight batters and completing six innings while giving up fewer than two runs for the first time this year. He allowed one run on three hits, walked none and struck out six to frustrate the Reds (47-51), who entered the All-Star break with a realistic shot at a wild-card playoff berth.
The veteran left-hander mixed in a slower slider that bottomed out at 64 mph to mess up the Reds' timing.
''Just going over their lineup, we saw some opportunities for that pitch,'' Corbin said. ''Maybe used it a little bit more than we have in the past.''
Cincinnati made it interesting in the ninth, scoring four times against Jose A. Ferrer and Derek Law and forcing Nationals manager Dave Martinez to summon All-Star closer Kyle Finnegan, who retired fellow All-Star Elly De La Cruz on a grounder for his 26th save in 30 opportunities.
''You have to make 27 outs with us. This is a team that never gives up,'' Reds starter Frankie Montas said. ''The second half, we all have the same goal. It's just to go out there and keep competing.''
Keibert Ruiz also homered for Washington (45-53), which hovered around .500 through mid-June but lost 14 of 20 going into the break. General manager Mike Rizzo said earlier Friday that he would listen to trade offers for Finnegan and outfielder Lane Thomas as he continues a rebuild that began at the trade deadline in 2021.
Rizzo would surely also be willing to deal Corbin, a pending free agent who is making $35 million this season and is 29-66 with a 5.58 ERA since 2020.
