Tanner Roark gets the call against Braves (with lineups)

VIERA, Fla. - Right-hander Tanner Roark will start this evening against the Braves, and is scheduled to go four innings. If he can hit that benchmark, Roark will be the first Nationals pitcher to do so this spring.

In five innings spread across two previous Grapefruit League appearances, including one start, Roark has allowed five hits and no runs with two walks and six strikeouts.

He's hopeful of returning to the Nationals rotation after spending last season working out of the bullpen and making occasional starts. Roark's chief competition appears to be right-handers Bronson Arroyo, a 39-year-old veteran in camp on a minor league deal, and Joe Ross, who flourished as a rookie last season in the rotation before hitting a wall in September.

Arroyo and Ross boast ERAs of 3.60 and 3.86, respectively. Both have made one start and two appearances, with Arroyo logging five innings and Ross pitching 4 2/3.

Roark, who won 15 games in 2014 working out of the rotation, has made no bones about the fact that he'd prefer to start rather than relieve, and the Nationals' bullpen makeover included signing swingman Yusmeiro Petit, who would take over the role Roark filled last year if Roark can win a spot in the rotation.

Tonight's opposing pitcher will be Braves southpaw Manny Banuelos, the one-time top Yankees prospect who checked the Nationals on two hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his major league debut last July 2, striking out seven. Banuelos faced Washington later in the season, yielding seven runs (six earned) on five hits in a Sept. 6 start, his last of the season before surgery to remove four bone chips from his left elbow.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS AT ATLANTA BRAVES

Where: Champion Stadium, Lake Buena Vista
When: 6:05 p.m.
Radio: 106.7 The Fan
TV: None
Weather: Partly cloudy, 79 degrees, winds 7 mph from left-center field

For the Nationals:

SS Trea Turner
CF Michael A. Taylor
2B Stephen Drew
1B Clint Robinson
RF Chris Heisey
LF Matt den Dekker
3B Jason Martinson
C Jose Lobaton
DH Tony Campana

RHP Tanner Roark

For the Braves:

CF Michael Bourn
SS Ozzie Albers
RF Nick Markakis
1B Nick Swisher
C A.J. Pierzynski
DH Tyler Flowers
LF Kelly Johnson
2B Gordon Beckham
3B Jace Peterson

LHP Manny Banuelos