Hearing from Tanner Roark and Dusty Baker

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Tanner Roark will be the first one to tell you he didn't have his best stuff tonight. He got behind hitters too frequently, but the Braves didn't force him to pay for that tentativeness in an 11-1 Nationals victory.

"A little effectively wild, I guess I would say," said the right-hander, who surrendered a run on three hits and struck out three without issuing a walk. "But I mean I felt good, arm felt loose, body felt loose. Overall, I pitched behind in the count a lot, and that was the biggest thing you can't fall into. As the innings go on, they recognize what you're throwing for strikes and what you're not, so that's when you get in trouble. But overall I felt good."

Roark's mindset in his battle to secure one of the two remaining spots in the Nationals rotation is a simple one: prepare and produce when given the opportunity.

"Some players say, 'Just getting my work in,' but it's not," he explained. "It's getting you ready for the season for Game 1 or Game 5 - the beginning of games when the games start in April, they count just as much as those last games in October. I want to come in ready to go Game 1 of the season."

That's the reason for the self-criticism over falling behind in counts. It's something Roark and new pitching coach Mike Maddux have worked on this spring. Roark wants to develop a knack for being aggressive early in the count and getting ahead of hitters.

"Just try not to take a pitch off," Roark said. "Like 0-0 and you try to throw a fastball in there and not locate it or have the conviction you want on it. It's gonna get smoked. I threw an 0-0 curveball up to Kelly (Johnson) tonight and it was sharp, but it wasn't as sharp as I wanted it to be, and base hit. But I like the way he (Maddux) talks to us and explains the game within the game. I've learned a lot from him so far."

The only blemish on Roark's evening - he became the first Nationals pitcher to work four innings in a game this spring - came in the third. Jace Peterson tripled to center and scored on a bounceout. In the fourth, the Braves made some harder contact, but had nothing to show for it.

"I was just behind in the count a lot," Roark said. "I wasn't getting strike one, I was getting 1-0. And then I had to come back. If I didn't throw my curveball too well, it would be 2-0. Then I'd have to groove my fastball. ... Just got to be ahead at all times and make them be on defense and not myself."

Manager Dusty Baker came away impressed with Roark's ability to fight through his issues.

"Tanner pitched pretty well," Baker said. "He didn't have his great stuff like he did the last two times, but that's the sign of that you can win without your best stuff."

The Nationals offense took a lot of the pressure off Roark, scoring twice in the first inning to give him a lead before he threw a pitch and adding another pair of runs in the second.

Michael A. Taylor was in the middle of the early surge, singling in the first, hitting an RBI double in the second and adding another two-base hit in the fourth, two batters before Clint Robinson's mammoth home run to right. Tyler Moore also homered, Stephen Drew drove in three runs and Chris Bostick had two RBIs.

"Our offense was good," Baker said. "I was glad to see big Clint hit one a mile and I was glad to see T-Mo (homer). We had a very good offensive day, good defensive day and a very good pitching day. Boy, that's what you call working on all cylinders."

Taylor upped his spring average to .444 and if he continues to hit, Baker will find a way to get him at-bats even though the Nats outfield appears to be set.

"He's getting better and better, and he's going to get better," Baker said. "He's going to play, it's just a matter of when. He's going to play quite a bit. We have four quality outfielders and a couple other guys who are really good players. That's the mark of a good team. You got to have depth and we certainly have depth."