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Nationals Reaction: 4-Run 2nd Leads To Win On Werth’s Birthday

By Ricky Keeler

May 20, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Washington Nationals center fielder Michael Taylor (right) celebrates with Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos (left) after Taylor drove in Ramos on a two run home run against the Miami Marlins during the second inning at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
May 20, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Washington Nationals center fielder Michael Taylor (right) celebrates with Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos (left) after Taylor drove in Ramos on a two run home run against the Miami Marlins during the second inning at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Nationals
May 20, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos (left) talks with starting pitcher Tanner Roark (right) near the pitchers mound during the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park. The Nationals won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

Roark Finally Beats Marlins

If it weren’t for the Miami Marlins, Tanner Roark would be having a fantastic season. Nevertheless, he finally got that elusive first win of 2016 against Miami last night. The right-hander went 6.2 innings, gave up one run on six hits, struck out seven, and walked two on 108 pitches (72 strikes) to pick up his third win of the season.

Even though Roark continued his streak of walking two or more batters in every game and he only threw 14 first pitch strikes to the 27 batters he faced, he still put together a strong outing.

In that fourth inning, Ozuna hit a 3-2 changeup over the wall in left on the ninth pitch of the at-bat. However, Ozuna has had success against Roark all season (5-for-12, one home run, five RBI’s, four runs scored).

The pitch that was working for Roark last night was his slider. According to Brooks Baseball, out of the 21 sliders that he threw, 14 of them went for strikes and only three of them were hit into play. Plus, three of his seven strikeouts ended with a slider.

With that win last night, Roark lowered his season ERA against Miami from 8.40 to 6.23 and he picked up his first win of the month in four starts. Even though he has had its struggles, Roark bounced back in a big way.

One inning that stood out from his outing came in the fifth inning. With two outs, Derek Dietrich reached base via a walk and Martin Prado singled to left. Christian Yelich came up as the tying run, but he hit a groundball right at Roark to end the inning. Last night, the Marlins were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position.

Next: Kelley Kills Marlins Rally In 8th Inning

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