MLB Game Preview - Kansas City at Washington

Sun Jul 7, 2019 1:35 PM EDT

Patrick Corbin will aim for his fourth straight impressive outing when he faces the Kansas City Royals in the series finale on Sunday in the nation's capital.

And this time, his start for the Nationals might not be as emotional, though the veteran lefty still has a heavy heart.

Corbin went seven innings and allowed just one run on Tuesday to beat the Miami Marlins, the day after his good friend and former teammate Tyler Skaggs of the Angels died at the age of 27.

"He was in my wedding," said Corbin, getting emotional after his outing Tuesday. Corbin normally wears No. 46, but he wore No. 45 to honor Skaggs in his performance Tuesday.

"I think when you have a loss, you want to keep things as normal as you can," Corbin said. "You want to go out there and do what you have to do. Saw the Angels played today, too. I don't know, I think it's best to just go out there and play the game of baseball."

Corbin and Skaggs were both drafted by the Angels in 2009 and then traded to Arizona in the same deal in July of 2010.

"It's one of those performances that we're going to remember, he's going to remember, just because of how much motivation he had behind it," Nationals catcher Yan Gomes told reporters after the game. "And I know Tyler would've been proud of him. And for what he did for his family today, it's a really cool moment and it's really heartfelt."

Corbin (7-5, 3.55 ERA) has gone seven innings in his last three starts and allowed one run each time, fanning at least seven in the three games.

He will be making his first start against Kansas City. The only time he pitched against the Royals was out of the bullpen in 2017, when he gave up no runs in 2 2/3 innings while with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Royals will counter with right-hander Jakob Junis (4-8, 5.53), who has never faced the Nationals.

Junis has not posted a win since May 30 at Texas. In his most recent start on Tuesday, he went 4 2/3 innings and gave up seven runs (six earned) with two walks and four strikeouts in a loss to the Cleveland Indians.

"It was all right," Junis told reporters after the game. "It could have been better because I made a couple of mistakes. They took advantage of my fastball over the plate."

Junis has faced just three Washington batters on the active roster, who have combined to go 6-for-26 (.231) with nine strikeouts against him. Brian Dozier is 3-for-12 (.250), Yan Gomes is 2-for-11 (.182) with six K's and Gerardo Parra is 1-for-3 (.333).

Kansas City hitters are 6-for-24 (.250) against Corbin. That includes speedy Billy Hamilton, who is 3-for-14 (.214). Lucas Duda of the Royals is 1-for-2 off Corbin with a homer.

Washington ace Max Scherzer threw seven scoreless innings in a 6-0 win on Saturday in the second game of the series.

The Nationals wore throwback 1969 Montreal Expos uniforms in the game Saturday. The Expos moved to Washington prior to the 2005 season. The Royals also wore their 1969 uniforms.

"Our starters are built to go seven innings. That is what we do," manager Dave Martinez said after Saturday's win. "I am very happy with the way we are playing baseball."

--Field Level Media