Tanner Roark making a run for 2016

Nationals right-hander Tanner Roark seized the opportunity last night to make a case to return to the starting rotation in 2016. Sure, Roark took the hard luck 2-1 loss, surrendering two solo homers to veteran catcher A.J. Pierzynski, but he shut down the rest of the Braves lineup over 6 2/3 innings.

"The arm's feeling great, the body's feeling great," Roark said to reporters. "Just two bad pitches. It usually boils down to five pitches in a start to determine if you give up runs or not. So those two pitches, a hanging curveball and a 3-2 fastball. What are you gonna do?"

Roark was commanding on the mound throughout his performance, coaxing 12 groundball outs with a hard sinker and fanning four while yielding just one walk. He threw 104 pitches in his longest outing since completing seven innings in a 16-4 win over the Rays on June 16.

"It feels very good, like building my confidence back up and knowing that I can go deep into games and go into the 100s with pitch count and still perform," Roark told reporters.

It's been a year filled with inconsistencies for Roark. The 28-year-old went 15-10 with a stellar 2.85 ERA over 31 starts in 2014. But Roark barely received any time to savor his first season in the Nationals starting rotation. When right-hander Max Scherzer arrived via free agency in January, Roark was bumped to the bullpen.

When right-hander Craig Stammen underwent season-ending surgery in mid-April, Roark became the Nationals' primary long relief option. He ended up back in the rotation for a handful of starts in late May with Stephen Strasburg and Doug Fister on the 15-day disabled list, and went 3-0 with a 3.86 ERA. And then an unfortunate rainout caused a spot start in Philadelphia on June 28 where Roark was peppered for 12 hits, resulting in eight runs over just 3 1/3 innings.

Roark pitched exclusively out of the bullpen in July and August before replacing Joe Ross in the starting rotation in September when the rookie reached his innings limit.

Roark went 0-2 with a 5.68 ERA in his first four starts this month while stretching out after his long stint as a reliever. In 28 appearances out of the bullpen this season, Roark was 1-3 with a 3.74 ERA.

The ironic part of Roark's success last night was that he showed less velocity on his fastball. Because Roark spent the majority of the season in the bullpen, his arm was lively, with his heater living around 95 mph. On Tuesday night, he dropped down to 90 mph to 92 mph with his fastball darting down in the zone.

"Generally, if he's not throwing as hard, the ball is lower and sinks a little bit more," Nationals manager Matt Williams explained to reporters. "I think it's a combination of things. One, (starting) every five days he gets a little more taxed as opposed to an inning or part of an inning (in relief). So he gets a little more taxed even though he's up more potentially in the bullpen. So his velocity comes down but his location gets better because he gets in better rhythm and locates better."

Roark, obviously knowing his arm, agreed with the reasoning.

"There was a couple pitches I let loose, but for the most part, I was just trying to hit my spot and stay down in the zone," Roark told reporters. "Coming out of the bullpen for an inning or whatever, you feel great all the time. Not all the time, but you feel great for the most part. You have a little extras, one or two miles per hour to your fastball. Of course, you see that and it kind of tricks you into, 'Man, I could blow everything by him.' But then you lose your location. So letting the ball move. Use the sinker more and command down in the zone."

So Roark, who wasn't a starter at the beginning of the season, will most likely end the year starting the Nationals' final game on Sunday afternoon at Citi Field. With free agent-to-be right-handers Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister presumed gone this offseason, Roark is expected to return to the rotation in 2016.

Then again, he was expected to return to the rotation in 2015, as well.