Miami Marlins Defeat Washington Nationals, 3-2; Tanner Roark Takes Loss

May 26, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Tanner Roark (57) throws during the second inning against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Tanner Roark has been the Washington Nationals’ most reliable starter this season.  He has consistently pitched six or more innings every outing.  On Monday, despite pitching seven strong innings and allowing just three runs, he suffered the loss—evening his record at 3-3.

The majority of the damage off of the young right handed starter came as a result of one pitch.

After recording two quick outs to open the ballgame, Giancarlo Stanton smoked a ball into right for a double. Casey McGehee followed with a base hit to give the Miami Marlins a quick 1-0 lead.

Roark seemed to settle down after that until the third inning, where he once again recorded two quick outs to open the frame.  He then hit Derek Dietrich, and Stanton made him pay.  The Marlins right fielder, wearing an American flag compression sleeve in honor of Memorial Day, blasted a fastball 447 feet to dead center for a 3-0 Marlins advantage.

The Nationals attempted to come back in the sixth, when Adam LaRoche pounded a ball into the upper deck in right field to score Jayson Werth, who had singled the batter before. It’s nice to see LaRoche already producing at his usual right after just coming off the disabled list on Sunday. Getting him back to full strength will help this lineup produce runs on a more consistent basis.

Unfortunately, the rally ended there.  The Miami bullpen shut down the Nats the rest of the game, culminating in a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth inning by Steve Cishek.

The two teams will again square off on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. ET at Nationals Park. Now one game under .500 (25-26), the Nats will send Blake Treinen to the bump. He will be opposed by Henderson Alvarez, who has put together a fine season so far on the mound.