Washington Nationals vs St. Louis Cardinals: Grapefruit League GameThread...

Tanner Roark tossed four scoreless, striking out three of the 13 batters he faced when he went up against the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Florida’s Roger Dean Stadium this past Monday.

This afternoon, in a game that’s being broadcast on MASN (and MLB.tv), Roark is going up against the Cards again. This time the Grapefruit League action will takes place in West Palm Beach, FL’s FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.

Roark has given up just three hits and a walk in eight innings over three starts so far this Spring, striking out eight batters and holding opposing hitters to a combined .107 AVG.

New Nationals’ skipper Davey Martinez talked, after watching Roark’s third start, about the way the right-hander goes about his business on the mound and what he’s seen so far in the pitcher’s outings.

“He’s got four really good pitches, works both sides of the plate really well,” Martinez said, as quoted by MASN’s Pete Kerzel.

“He can throw them at any time. That’s what’s really good about Tanner - he’s not afraid to pitch backwards when he needs to and he’s not afraid of the plate. He throws strikes.”

Roark, who has been working with a simplified delivery early this Spring, said he felt good about the results with the changes he’s made.

“I wanted to try it and see what it felt like,” he explained. “Feel like it feels simple - what I want out of mechanics.”

He’ll continue to try to build on his success (after a frustrating 2017 campaign for Roark, which culminated in the right-hander being passed over completely in the NLDS). Will a second look at the Nationals’ starter in a week help the Cardinals this time around? We’ll find out at 1:05 PM EDT.

HERE’S THE NATIONALS’ LINEUP FOR TODAY’S GAME VS THE CARDINALS: