Texas Rangers left-handed pitcher Patrick Corbin made his start as scheduled on Wednesday, delivering 5 1/3 strong innings on the mound, but he was almost forced to miss the game.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy told reporters Thursday that Corbin almost missed his start due to some kind of venomous insect bite that was impacting him––and his ability to walk––ahead of first pitch.
"We weren't even sure if he was going to pitch," said Bochy, via Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. "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."
Ultimately, Corbin was able to overcome the venomous bite and deliver an excellent outing. He struck out six batters and surrendered just one run while picking up his first win of the season.
Corbin addressed the matter on Thursday, too.
"Something bit me, but I still don't know what. They were able to kind of work it out and just kind of maintain it throughout the day. But it's pretty sore still. It's just kind of just something that's really strange. I was just fortunate to get through yesterday, and I have some time to recover and be good to go," Corbin said of the venomous bite.
Corbin will have a few days to recuperate ahead of his next start, which is slated for Tuesday, April 22 against the Athletics.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Patrick Corbin Had His Best Start of the Year After Getting Bit by Venomous Creature.
