Roark laboring again in opener vs. Phillies (Nats lose 4-3)

PHILADELPHIA - Tanner Roark has a new look adorning his face, but his performance on the mound so far tonight unfortunately has looked too familiar to the Nationals.

Roark, who shaved off his large beard but retained a thick mustache and sharp-angled sideburns for tonight's start against the Phillies, has been laboring on the mound from the get-go and appears headed for another quick exit.

On the heels of back-to-back troublesome outings in Toronto and Washington, Roark has needed 71 pitches to complete four innings tonight at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies have scored only two runs, but Roark has faced trouble throughout.

The right-hander put three runners on base in the bottom of the first, two via walk, but escaped with nobody crossing the plate despite throwing 28 pitches.

Roark then surrendered an unearned run in the second via Maikel Franco's double, Jorge Alfaro's single to center and Michael A. Taylor's bobble in center field as he charged the ball, allowing Franco to score.

A hit-by-pitch, a flyout to the warning track in center, a single and a sacrifice fly brought home another run in the third and gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead.

At that point, Roark had surrendered 12 runs on 19 hits, eight walks and two hit batters in his last 11 1/3 innings.

The Nationals did score first tonight, the first run they had scored since Sunday night's late rally against the Phillies in D.C. A second-inning single by Trea Turner and a double by Pedro Severino got the job done against Aaron Nola, with Severino notching only his second RBI since May 15.

Bryce Harper fouled a ball off his inner right ankle bone in the top of the third and dropped to the ground in pain. It took Harper a while to be able to stand up and take a step again, but he remained in the game, ultimately striking out but returning to take his position in right field the following inning.

Update: Roark gave the Nats a chance to win, going six innings and allowing just those two early runs, one of them unearned. But he departed with the team trailing 2-1, and then that deficit quickly became 4-1 after Ryan Madson took over for the seventh. Madson gave up a leadoff single to César Hernández and a homer to Rhys Hoskins, and now the veteran reliever is sporting a 4.73 ERA. And the Nats are staring at a three-run deficit that must feel like 13 runs.

Update II: That'll do it. The Nats rallied in the ninth and scored two runs but still lost 4-3. They've dropped 10 of their last 13 games. They're four games behind the Braves, two games behind the Phillies.