Washington Nationals: Tanner Roark Faces Biggest Career Test

Down a game, the Washington Nationals hope to bounce back against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of their NL Divisional Series.

Washington Nationals fans, time to take a deep breath.

Yes, they are down one game in their best-of-five tussle against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Divisional Series. The Nats had Dodger ace Clayton Kershaw on the ropes and uncomfortable several times in his five innings. The bullpen shut Washington down, holding the Nationals to one hit over the last four innings.

Saturday is another day and Tanner Roark gets the call for Washington against the blister-challenged Rich Hill for Los Angeles. For the Nats, the season rides on this one. They must win or hope for an epic Dodger collapse Monday and Tuesday in Los Angeles. You cannot go two down in a best-of-five at home and survive. It is that simple.

There were good signs in Game 1. Daniel Murphy drew a couple hits and a walk. His rear felt well enough to try to steal a base. Ryan Zimmerman made hard, solid contact. Even his outs were stung hard. Bryce Harper did a better job protecting the plate.

The margin in a playoff game is small. Murphy’s caught stealing killed one rally. Danny Espinosa stranded six base runners by looking horrible at the plate. Scherzer hanging two pitches that left the yard. Those things happen. Put together, and the Nationals are in a hole.

As we await Game 2, here are three things to watch for as the Washington Nationals hope to even the series as they fly across country for Monday’s Game 3.

TANNER ROARK’S GAME

Without question, this is the biggest start in Tanner Roark’s career.

Coming off his best season in his short career, he takes the mound Saturday in his first playoff start, trying to keep the Washington Nationals season afloat. No pressure there. None.

Roark pitched himself into this position. With a 16-10 record and 2.83 ERA, he is ready for the assignment. Remember, his ERA is lower than Scherzer by 0.13 and he allowed 17 regular season home runs instead of the 31 dingers by Scherzer. Although not as dominant as Mad Max, you can expect Roark to throw 100 pitches and six innings if things go well.

In his one start against the Dodgers in 2016, Roark took the loss. At Dodger Stadium on June 21, Roark finished on the wrong side of a 6-5 score. In 7.1 innings, he allowed three runs off six hits and a walk. Holding on to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the eighth, catcher Yasmani Grandal rocked him for a three-run bomb to center. A good effort undone on one pitch.

At home, Roark is 9-6 this season with a 2.72 ERA. In 18 starts, he scattered 93 hits in 112.2 innings. The best stat is only seven of his homers allowed came at Nationals Park.

When you have two top pitchers facing off, as we did with Scherzer and Kershaw in Game 1, the result is a coin flip. Yesterday, that was the case.

As we head into Game 2, this is where the Nationals’ rotation depth exerts itself. The leash for Hill will be short as he battles a continuous finger blister. Roark is the man you want on the mound in these circumstances.

A PROBLEM WITH RISP

There are certain things that kill good playoff teams.

For the Washington Nationals in Game 1, it was moving runners along in scoring position. You will win nothing if you go 1-for-10 as the Nats did.

Confidence and attitude play a huge role this time of year. During the regular season, most games are equal and teams ebb and flow as the summer progresses. Playoff baseball is a different animal. One game is a mini-season. Staying positive after a loss is crucial.

Hitting so poorly with runners on base will end the year. It gets in your head that the team cannot execute, and, the Dodgers in this case, the other teams pitching staff grows in confidence. They can attack harder knowing mistakes will not be exploited.

In Game 1, the Nationals worked pitch counts and fought hard to protect the strike zone, mostly. As a unit in Game 2, they have to use the same approach. Make Rich Hill beat you with his best stuff and tire him out. It worked against Kershaw, but not against the bullpen.

Although the final score tilted the wrong way, Washington’s patience early worked. They need to use it when runners are on.

PLAYOFF NERVES

Trea Turner and Danny Espinosa were lost souls in Game 1.

Espinosa was awful. In three at bats, he struck out every time taking a total of three balls. If there was one hitter who did not get the memo on patience and discipline, it was him.

Although this is his third playoff series with Washington, he was not a starter two years ago against the San Francisco Giants and went 1-for-15 in 2012 against the St. Louis Cardinals. With the pressure of the team’s history and calls for Stephen Drew to start over him, perhaps Espinosa tried too hard and fell out of his normal game. It happens.

If he looks lost at the plate early, manager Dusty Baker will have no choice but to use the quick hook. Espinosa stranded six baserunners in Game 1. If two score, we talk about how the Nats can push the Dodgers to the brink in Game 2. Instead, Washington is the team behind the eight-ball.

Although Turner hit a sacrifice fly off Kershaw, he was nervous in his first MLB postseason game. Digging in against Clayton Kershaw at an odd time with a full house will do that.

That was yesterday. In Game 2, he needs to go back to what worked all season. Take pitches and get on base. With his speed, any walks or singles will make Dodgers pitchers pause and split their concentration with him and the No. 2 hitter. Bryce Harper had the honors yesterday instead of Jayson Werth. Expect that again in Game 2.

For Turner, forget about Game 1 and settle into the normal routine. His contributions can make the difference.