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Tanner Roark had a five-start unbeaten streak snapped last time out, in what ended up a 10-8 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in which he gave up seven hits, three walks and five runs, four earned, over five innings on the mound in Washington, D.C.’s Nationals Park.
Roark threw a total of 111 pitches in just five innings with a 39-pitch, four-run first all-but guaranteeing it would be a relatively brief outing.
“It can happen to anybody, it can happen even to a workhorse. The thing about it is he wasn’t sharp early,” Baker acknowledged after the game when asked about the rough start by Roark.
“They were jumping on his fastball early. These guys, they can hit. We knew that coming in here.”
In August, the 29-year-old right-hander is (3-1) in five starts with a 3.13 ERA, a 5.49 FIP, 13 walks (3.69 BB/9), 21 Ks (5.97 K/9) and a .239/.336/.414 line against in 31 ⅔ innings pitched.
In three starts against the Phillies this season, two at home and one in Philadelphia, PA’s Citizens Bank Park, where he starts tonight, Roark is (2-0) with a 0.86 ERA (2 ER in 21 IP), holding Philly hitters to a combined .171/.237/.229 line.
Roark makes his third start against the Nationals’ NL East rivals tonight in the series opener of the three-game set in CBP.
Here’s the Nationals’ lineup for tonight’s game with the Phillies:
#Nats vs #Phillies 1 of 3: Turner - CF; Werth - LF; Murphy - 2B; Harper - RF; Rendon - 3B; Ramos - C; Robinson - 1B; Espi - SS, Roark - P
— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) August 29, 2016