Roark extends himself, wins fourth straight

CHICAGO - When Tanner Roark walked off the mound following a scoreless bottom of the seventh Saturday afternoon, he was greeted at the top of the dugout steps by Davey Martinez, who proceeded to have a conversation with the pitcher.

When that conversation ended, Roark got a fist-bump from his manager and went back into the dugout. He didn't get a handshake or any hugs from teammates.

In the current etiquette of baseball, this could only be deciphered to mean one thing: Roark was coming back to pitch the eighth inning, even though his pitch count already stood at 100. And sure enough, that's exactly what happened, as the Nationals let the resurgent right-hander extend himself for the first time in a while.

"I wanted to create some length," Martinez said. "His last few outings, he only went less than 100 pitches. I asked him, that last inning before he came out, how did he feel? He said: 'I feel great.' I said: 'You wanna go back out?' He said: 'Yeah, I wanna stretch myself out a little bit.' Well, good. We got him to 115 pitches."

Actually, Roark got all the up to 117 pitches before he was pulled with two outs in the eighth. It may have seemed like an odd strategy - Why let a starter throw that many pitches with his team up eight runs? - but there was some theory behind it.

"We just talked about it a few minutes ago, that I haven't gone over 100 pitches in quite a while," Roark said. "Felt great. Still felt strong. Just good to get the pitch count up."

Roark is enjoying a resurgence on the mound right now, and the Nationals hope there's still enough time remaining in the season to make it worthwhile. After a ragged stretch leading into the All-Star break that left the 31-year-old admittedly lost, he has rediscovered his peak form and now is pitching as well as he ever has.

Over his last four starts, Roark is 4-0 with a 1.21 ERA, 27 strikeouts and only two walks. Mechanically, he feels in sync for the first time in a long time.

"Just being able to drive more toward the plate and be more deceptive," he said when asked what the difference has been. "Getting on top of the ball with my sinker was a huge part of it. Using it to both sides of the plate, and also mixing my four-seamer to keep the hitters honest. But I would say just finishing the pitches, gives more deception and later movement."

Roark is throwing more strikes, getting more movement on his two-seamer and as a result getting an opportunity to pitch deeper in games. He has now completed seven innings in each of his last four starts and twice has reached the eighth.

And when he both took the mound and eventually departed the mound in the eighth Saturday afternoon, the Wilmington, Ill., native heard plenty of cheers from the stands.

"I mean, I've got a lot of family that come out and support me, which is great," Roark said. "I hear people yelling my name every time I walk off or walk on the field, so it's great. I love it."