Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats
The Nationals needed a Tanner Roark gem today, and they got it in the form of an 8-inning shutout. He finished at 106 pitches with 11 strikeouts and only 4-baserunners allowed by him. This was Roark’s first start since Friday July 13th which gave him 11-days of rest and he looked fresh! The movement on his pitches today was excellent and when he made a rare location mistake it didn’t matter. It also kept his pitch count low as he averaged a little over just 13 pitches per inning.
Maybe the issue all along was some dead-arm for Roark. He hadn’t looked right since his May 26th start. With this big win today, the Nationals earned their 50th win of the season and have something to really build on.
“I wanted to get him through the eight inning,” manager Dave Martinez said. “He did really good for us. Just keep us in the ballgame.”
What is strange is how the Nationals scored 7-runs on only 4-hits. It was thanks to a bunch of walks and a hit-by-pitch followed by a two-run Daniel Murphy single, a wild-pitch, a three-run Bryce Harper home run, and a solo Juan Soto home run.
Unfortunately, Sammy Solis came into this blow-out 7-0 game and quickly gave up 3-runs which caused Dave Martinez to bring in his closer Kelvin Herrera who got the last out to secure the win.
The Nationals head to Miami for a four-game series.
