Nationals pitcher Tanner Roark shuts down Braves, 2-0
By Brad Rowland
The Tanner Roark traveling road show squared off with the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night, and the results weren’t pretty for the NL East division leaders.
After a disappointing start to the day for the Braves that ended with a highly-unexpected error from all-world shortstop Andrelton Simmons, the Braves couldn’t muster a single run against the aforementioned Roark and the Nationals in suffering a 4-0 loss in the nightcap. Roark absolutely breezed through 7 innings, allowing only 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 6 batters. With that, the 26-year-old right-hander has 13 consecutive scoreless innings against the Braves (over 3 appearances), and he has apparently solved the riddle of the Atlanta offense.
Lost in the Roark show was the outstanding effort from Braves starter Freddy Garcia. The 37-year-old (doesn’t he seem older?) navigated through 7 innings while allowing only 1 run, and in the process, continued his insanely strong performance while in a Braves uniform. The entire baseball world has seemingly made jokes about the Garcia era in the Atlanta rotation, but if he continues to pitch with this effectiveness, the laughter will cease in a hurry.
The early difference in the game on the scoreboard was an RBI single from Steve Lombardozzi, but the insurance came flooding in during the late innings. Ryan Zimmerman blasted an 8th-inning solo home run, and he was followed by run-scoring hits from both Ian Desmond and former Brave Adam Laroche. On a normal night, this type of offense wouldn’t be overwhelming against the NL East leaders, but the Braves offense ran into an unexpected buzzsaw in Roark.
Atlanta began the day dreaming of celebrating a division title on their rival’s home field, but after back-to-back losses, the magic number remains at 4 for the Braves in the NL East.