Nationals waste Roark's gem, lose 1-0 to Brewers (updated)

MILWAUKEE - Tanner Roark did just about everything he could, aside from one bad pitch in the bottom of the first. Who knew that one bad pitch would prove the entire difference in the game for the Nationals?

Unable to solve Brewers starter Jimmy Nelson or a pair of relievers, who combined to record 17 strikeouts, the Nationals wasted perhaps Roark's best outing of the season and were left to stew over a 1-0 loss at Miller Park.

"Very rarely does it happen," said Roark, who had taken the loss only twice before in his career when allowing only one run. "It was a pitchers' duel tonight, and they came out on top. I have the utmost confidence in these guys in here to score runs. It's just one of those games. It happens."

It was only the Nationals' fifth shutout loss of the season, all of them coming in the last two months as their lineup has dealt with injuries to several key regulars. It also was only the second time this season they struck out 17 times, the previous instance coming all the way back in early April on a 48-degree night in Philadelphia.

"We didn't have a lot of opportunities, and this team usually doesn't strike out like that," manager Dusty Baker said. "So that was just evidence that the guys weren't picking the ball up here."

It wasn't a completely wasted Friday for the Nationals, who at least saw their magic number drop to 14 thanks to the Marlins' 2-1 loss to the Phillies. Then again, that number could have been reduced to 13 had they simply been able to push across a couple of runs.

The Nationals didn't lack for scoring opportunities early. They simply couldn't convert any of them against Nelson.

They had a man on second with two outs in the top of the first, only to watch as Ryan Zimmerman struck out swinging at a curveball. They had a man on third with one out in the top of the second, only to watch as Michael A. Taylor struck out and Roark flied out to left. And then they had a man on third with nobody out in the top of the third - they also loaded the bases later in the inning - and came away with nothing after Daniel Murphy, Howie Kendrick and Jayson Werth all struck out.

By the end of the fifth, Nelson had already matched his career high with 11 strikeouts, leaving the Nationals lineup bumfuzzled by his repertoire, most notably his curveball.

"I think he had his good stuff going tonight," said Werth, who struck out twice and fouled out to the catcher against Nelson. "These are big games for them. Not that they're not for us, but I think he was fired up. He's usually pretty good, but I think tonight he had a little something else in the tank for us. He was hitting his spots and had his breaking stuff working."

Roark did his part to keep the game close. The right-hander made only one real mistake: a first-inning curveball that hung over the plate and was promptly mashed to right field by Neil Walker for a solo homer.

Otherwise, Roark was brilliant, finishing with 10 strikeouts over seven mostly dominant innings. The Brewers threatened only two other times against him, loading the bases with nobody out in the fifth. Even then, Roark was able to wriggle his way out of the jam by getting Orlando Arcia to tap a ball in front of the plate (Jose Lobaton turned that into a rare 2-3 double play) and then striking out Nelson.

"We were lucky to get that double-play ball with the bases loaded, nobody out, and get the next guy out," he said. "So it was just confidence in your catcher to put down the right fingers, and confidence in myself to go out there and execute the pitches."

Roark faced one more jam in the seventh after Jonathan Villar delivered a two-out double. But after intentionally walking Arcia - the pitcher's lone walk of the night - he got pinch-hitter Jesús Aguilar to fly out to deep center field, keeping this a 1-0 deficit and at least giving his teammates a chance against the Milwaukee bullpen.

The Nationals couldn't find any more success against the Brewers relief corps. Left-hander Josh Hader struck out the side in the eighth on 11 pitches. Closer Corey Knebel then finished it off in the ninth, sending the Nats to one of their more disappointing losses of the season.

"We were right there with them," Werth said. "Tanner pitched great. We had some opportunities: bases loaded early in the game. I had a pitch to hit at 2-1, fouled it off. And then he threw a really good slider 3-2. I got a piece of it, but the catcher caught it. That pretty much ended the threat right there. We really didn't have much else to offer after that."