Roark digs early hole, can't escape in 6-1 loss to Marlins

MIAMI - The Nationals' plan of attack going into tonight's game against Jose Fernandez was to try to build up the young ace's pitch count and force the Marlins to turn to their bullpen.

In that regard, the Nationals did exactly as they hoped. They worked the count against Fernandez and ultimately knocked him out of the game after only six innings thanks to an elevated pitch count of 103.

Problem is, they didn't make Fernandez actually suffer much at all for his excess work. And so they still wound up dropping the opener of this four-game series 6-1.

The Nationals had chances against a wild Fernandez early on, with five men reaching base in three innings despite the lack of any hits. But they couldn't produce any hits to drive a man home, finally scoring their lone run off the dynamic right-hander in the top of the fifth on Bryce Harper's sacrifice fly.

That wasn't nearly enough offense to support Tanner Roark, who once again struggled early against this Miami lineup and dug his team into a 3-0 hole after one inning.

Roark, who also gave up three first-inning runs to the Marlins earlier this month in the home opener at Nationals Park, settled down after that, allowing only one more earned run on Giancarlo Stanton's solo homer in the fifth. But on a night when his team needed him to be in peak form, Roark didn't come close.

Thus, the Nationals now find themselves stuck in their first losing streak of the young season. It's only two games, mind you, but given how well they've played to date, this qualifies as a slump.

Here's something else that qualifies as a slump: Harper didn't hit a home run for the first time in five games. The reigning National League MVP went 0-for-2 with a walk and the aforementioned sac fly, coming up short in his quest to become the first player in franchise history to homer in five consecutive games.