Patrick Corbin is sharp, but Shohei Ohtani gets last word in series opener

Four batters later, Corbin’s work had come undone. Reliever Derek Law allowed three straight batters to reach with two outs: Teoscar Hernández singled, Max Muncy walked and Kike Hernandez singled, tying the game.

Two innings later, Hunter Harvey allowed a run-scoring double to James Outman to give the Dodgers a lead. Then Shohei Ohtani delivered the night’s exclamation point, blasting Matt Barnes’s second pitch 450 feet into the second deck in right-center to secure a 4-1 win.

“It stinks because Pat pitched his butt off tonight,” Harvey said. “We kind of let him down, so hopefully next time we can pick him up.”

The Nationals (10-12) threatened in the ninth, loading the bases against Evan Phillips with two outs. But Jesse Winker struck out to end it.

The loss came with an extra dose of pain: Right fielder Lane Thomas is scheduled for an MRI exam Wednesday after injuring his left knee in the fifth inning. Thomas slid awkwardly to avoid a tag at second base. He tried to stand, but hobbled and fell down again. Martinez and head trainer Paul Lessard checked on Thomas, who remained in the game initially. But an inning later, Thomas was replaced by Eddie Rosario.

“He said he felt like he could run,” Martinez said. “Once he got in the outfield, I told Paul keep an eye on him, he might get stiff. And he did get stiff.”

The injury and bullpen letdown overshadowed a strong start from Corbin. It’s not often that a starting pitcher can get an immediate do over, but Corbin got such a chance after allowing five runs to the Dodgers (14-11) in 6⅓ innings last week at Chavez Ravine.

Tuesday’s start threatened to go sideways early when Corbin threw first-pitch balls to the first seven hitters he faced. He also worked out of a jam in the first, getting Hernández to ground out with two on.

But then Corbin settled in, retiring eight of the next 11 batters. In the third inning, he threw a first-pitch strike to Ohtani and retired him on a lineout to center. That was the first of nine straight first-pitch strikes that Corbin threw until the fifth inning when he faced Ohtani again. Corbin finished his night by getting Freddie Freeman to ground out to first base. By the time he left, his ERA had dropped from 8.06 to 6.51.

“Maybe a little better location today,” Corbin said. “Fell behind some guys, but I thought [the pitches] were around the plate. … I think overall stayed aggressive, located the cutter better today and was able to keep us in there.”

Jordan Weems worked a scoreless seventh before Martinez turned to Harvey, perhaps the Nationals’ best reliever thus far. He has been so reliable that Martinez has used him against the heart of opposing team’s orders instead of sticking to specific innings. So it made sense that the manager would turn to him with two outs and one on in the seventh to face Freeman. Freeman singled before Will Smith flied out to right, ending the threat.

But Harvey couldn’t replicate his success in the eighth. And neither did the relievers that followed Harvey.

The Nationals’ offense also didn’t do its pitching staff any favors, either. Their lone run came on a Jacob Young safety squeeze in the second inning that scored Ildemaro Vargas. And then there were baserunning errors. The Nationals were picked off twice at first base: Nick Senzel by James Paxton in the fourth and CJ Abrams by Alex Vesia in the seventh.

“Playing a lineup like that, it’s going to be tough to ever win a game with one run,” Young said. “[Corbin], of course, gave us a chance by pitching so well. We had a chance there in the ninth, too. Just kind of ran ourselves out of it, but we battled all night.”

The Nationals selected the contract of right-handed reliever Jacob Barnes from Class AAA Rochester and placed left-handed reliever Robert Garcia on the 15-day injured list with the flu. To clear room on the 40-man roster for Barnes, the Nationals designated infielder Jake Alu for assignment. Alu made his major debut last season with the Nationals, but was optioned to Rochester this season and hit .190 in 15 games.

Martinez said Garcia’s velocity was down in recent outings, so the team opted to play it safe. Garcia is the second National to be placed on the injured list with the flu, joining catcher Keibert Ruiz, who started a rehab assignment with the Harrisburg Senators on Tuesday night and finished 1 for 4.

The Nationals could have brought up another left-handed reliever such as Richard Bleier or Joe La Sorsa from Class AAA, but instead went with the hottest arm. Barnes, who impressed after he signed a minor league deal during spring training, allowed just one hit in eight scoreless innings for Rochester and struck out 10. …

Right-hander Josiah Gray is now throwing from 75 feet as he rehabs from a strained right flexor muscle. … Righty Cade Cavalli threw 60 pitches in his most recent bullpen; the goal is for him to get to 75 pitches before he starts facing live hitters. … Outfielder Victor Robles will travel with the Nationals on their next trip and resume baseball activity as he rehabs his left hamstring strain. Martinez said Robles will probably need to go on a rehab assignment.