Notes on Roark, Fister, Strasburg and Desmond

With the approaching return of Doug Fister and Stephen Strasburg from the 15-day disabled list, it appears Tanner Roark's stint in the starting rotation is coming to an end. Depending on how Nationals manager Matt Williams chooses to slot out his starters for the remainder of the week, tonight could be Roark's last or at least second to last start for a while before heading back to the bullpen.

Since Fister landed on the DL, Roark has started four games, posting a 4.63 ERA while walking four and striking out 14. However, Roark was much sharper in the first two outings as opposed to the last two. In his starts in Chicago and Cincinnati, Roark allowed three runs on seven hits across 11 innings. The next two times out, those numbers dropped off as the right-hander surrendered nine runs on 15 hits in 12 1/3 innings. He has also been hurt by the longball, with opposing teams pounding out seven homers in his four starts.

"You can try to make adjustments here and there, but if you think about trying to make those adjustments out there, then that's just gonna make everything worse," Roark told reporters after last Thursday's loss in Milwaukee. "That's what happened to me before. You got a just go out and there and battle and fight even when you don't have your best stuff. I mean, very rarely do have your best stuff every single day."

Fister went through a bullpen session at Tropicana Field yesterday and could be on track to start as soon as Thursday night against the Rays at Nationals Park. Recovering from a right flexor strain, the 31-year-old was strong in his last rehab outing, throwing six scoreless innings of two-hit ball with four strikeouts for Double-A Harrisburg.

Strasburg will make his first and possibly only rehab start in Harrisburg tomorrow at noon.

"He had a really good live session in Milwaukee and came through his bullpen good (Sunday). So he's ready to go," Williams told reporters yesterday. "He (threw) 60 pitches in the live and he'll get out and get his rehab start and he's good for 80 to 85. As long as he feels good physically then we're happy about that. He has had no issues so far, so we'll step up the competition and the intensity a little bit and make sure he's good to go."

Meanwhile, we're past the halfway mark in June and Ian Desmond is slashing .115/.132/.192 with just six hits in 52 at-bats during the month. The cringeworthy numbers fall off the charts when you zero in on his last four games, where the 29-year-old is 0-for-16 with 11 strikeouts and no walks.

"He's in between," Williams told reporters. "So he's late on the fastball. His foot's getting down late. The timing is off. He's not seeing it. All of those things that happen when you go into a funk."

Coming off three consecutive Silver Slugger Awards, Desmond found himself in the basement of Williams' lineup yesterday, batting ninth for the first time this year.

The Nats inability to score runs consistently isn't just about Desmond or Ryan Zimmerman. Wilson Ramos was a main factor in the Nats offensive explosion last month. Sparked by a career-best 19-game hitting streak, his average rose as high as .320. But since that scorching stretch ended on May 20, Ramos has slashed just .174/.197/.348 in 18 games.

Ramos may be battling his way out of the rut, though. He is 4-for-12 (.333) with a homer, double and three RBIs while hitting safely in his last three games.

"I like to hit the ball the other way," Ramos said on MASN's "Nats Xtra. "When I hit a ball like that, I feel better at the plate. That's all I need to do. Just be more patient at the plate and put a good swing on the ball."

With Bryce Harper living on base, it's crucial for Ramos to provide production behind him in the lineup.