Roark's relief appearance a small silver lining

If you're searching for silver linings from Saturday's 13-0 drubbing at the hands of the Braves - an admittedly difficult proposition - how about Tanner Roark's relief appearance?

It may not have done anything to help put the Nationals in position to win the game, but on a personal level it was a positive development for Roark, who needed one in the worst way.

The end result - three runs allowed in five innings - wasn't especially notable, but Roark looked (and felt) like a much different pitcher than the one who slogged through most of the season's first half.

"Mind felt clear. Body felt good," he said. "Made my pitches for the most part. I felt like I was ... I felt good. Let's go with that."

Replacing the injured and ineffective Stephen Strasburg in the top of the fourth, Roark wound up retiring the first six batters he faced before surrendering one run a piece in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Only four of the 19 batters he faced in total reached base against him, with Nick Markakis' solo homer in the seventh the biggest blow.

Roark threw 76 pitches, displaying far better efficiency than he had in some time.

"I felt like they hit good pitches today," he said. "Some found holes. One went over the fence. Overall, I felt good. I felt confident out there. I felt like I could make any pitch at any time."

It had been a strange week for Roark, who was scheduled to start Wednesday night against the Mets but was bypassed altogether when that game was rained out. He was then available out of the bullpen the rest of the weekend and did briefly warm up late in Friday night's 10-inning win over the Braves.

"I was just staying mentally prepared," he said. "You can't let your guard down. I knew I was going to be in the bullpen, so it's fine. Just trying not to let my guard down and do what I can."

Roark now gets today off and heads into the All-Star break with a slight boost of confidence. He also still owns a 5.27 ERA and knows he has much to prove once the season resumes at the end of the week.

"With the score the way it was, it was a great work day for Tanner," manager Dusty Baker said. "He only gave up one hard hit ball, and that was a solo home run. He had good location, good tempo. Hopefully we can build off of that for the second half."