Williams on Roark, Span and more after 7-3 loss
By Dan Kolko
The Nationals held a 3-2 lead through six until the dormant-of-late Orioles offense awoke and put five unanswered runs on the board, leading to a 7-3 win for the visitors.
Tanner Roark pitched pretty well until the O's pounced on some pitches up in the zone in the seventh, and after Roark departed, Baltimore only kept on coming.
The O's out-hit the Nats 14-8, and 10 of the Baltimore hits came in the seventh inning or later.
Wilson Ramos homered for the Nats, while Denard Span went 2-for-4 and made a couple of really nice defensive plays in the loss.
Here's manager Matt Williams after the game.
On Roark in the seventh: "Just think he got some pitches up. The ball to (J.J.) Hardy's down the line, elevated fastball. The same for the rest of the guys, really, that inning. Ball got up, they got a guy to third, and he hung a slider to (Delmon) Young. He was pretty good until that point, and then the ball just got up in the zone."
On if there was thought to pinch-hitting for Roark with runners at the corners and two outs in the sixth: "There's thought, but it depends on who else we've got available. Bullpen's been pitching a lot lately, but we've got the lead. And he almost got a hit. That ball almost got down the line. But in that situation, he's low pitch count, he's pitching well. He's been pitching well. So we want to take the lead into the following inning, as well. And we can't burn the 'pen, either. Decided to go with him the last inning."
On if any of his relievers were unavailable tonight: "That's for us to know. I'm not gonna go there now. But the bullpen's been pitching a lot."
On if he's noticed anything that's led to Craig Stammen's tough stretch: "No. We looked back to the last game against these guys, the last game they played here that he pitched in. And they hit some balls hard then, too. So it may be difficult match-ups for him there in the middle of their lineup, as well. But in that situation, we've got to go with it and get him in there. It's been tough for him to find innings because the starting pitchers have been going so deep and they've been close games, too, and you turn it over to the back-of-the-bullpen guys to win a game. It's tough to find him innings. We'll continue to try and do that."
On the missed offensive chances early on: "Yeah, well, Jayson (Werth's) at-bat, it's the sac fly, but it stops, potentially, that inning. If he gets a hit there, then we roll. But he did his job. He knocked the guy in from third base. Sometimes a homer will stop the parade, too. But he did a nice job of getting the guy in from third with a sac fly. That one was potentially setting up for a big one, but that's the way the game goes."
On Span's defensive plays: "He's just continued to play really well. He's playing every day, he's hitting, getting on base, stealing bases, playing great defense as usual. He's a really good player, and we're happy to have him on our club, that's for sure."
On Jerry Blevins, who has had two straight scoreless outings: "Yeah, the mechanical adjustment that he made after two outings ago was really good. Staying back a little bit better and commanding the fastball to both sides better. Threw a couple of really good curveballs tonight for strikeouts. So yeah, encouraging for him, for sure."
On what he means by staying back: "Just staying back over the rubber a little more and commanding the ball down. He and (pitching coach Steve McCatty) have been working on that. Like a hitter, if you jump out there, your mechanics get a little off-kilter. So he's just staying back a little bit better and commanding the ball to both sides. So it's an encouraging sign for him."
On Roark in the seventh: "Just think he got some pitches up. The ball to (J.J.) Hardy's down the line, elevated fastball. The same for the rest of the guys, really, that inning. Ball got up, they got a guy to third, and he hung a slider to (Delmon) Young. He was pretty good until that point, and then the ball just got up in the zone."
On if there was thought to pinch-hitting for Roark with runners at the corners and two outs in the sixth: "There's thought, but it depends on who else we've got available. Bullpen's been pitching a lot lately, but we've got the lead. And he almost got a hit. That ball almost got down the line. But in that situation, he's low pitch count, he's pitching well. He's been pitching well. So we want to take the lead into the following inning, as well. And we can't burn the 'pen, either. Decided to go with him the last inning."
On if any of his relievers were unavailable tonight: "That's for us to know. I'm not gonna go there now. But the bullpen's been pitching a lot."
On if he's noticed anything that's led to Craig Stammen's tough stretch: "No. We looked back to the last game against these guys, the last game they played here that he pitched in. And they hit some balls hard then, too. So it may be difficult match-ups for him there in the middle of their lineup, as well. But in that situation, we've got to go with it and get him in there. It's been tough for him to find innings because the starting pitchers have been going so deep and they've been close games, too, and you turn it over to the back-of-the-bullpen guys to win a game. It's tough to find him innings. We'll continue to try and do that."
On the missed offensive chances early on: "Yeah, well, Jayson (Werth's) at-bat, it's the sac fly, but it stops, potentially, that inning. If he gets a hit there, then we roll. But he did his job. He knocked the guy in from third base. Sometimes a homer will stop the parade, too. But he did a nice job of getting the guy in from third with a sac fly. That one was potentially setting up for a big one, but that's the way the game goes."
On Span's defensive plays: "He's just continued to play really well. He's playing every day, he's hitting, getting on base, stealing bases, playing great defense as usual. He's a really good player, and we're happy to have him on our club, that's for sure."
On Jerry Blevins, who has had two straight scoreless outings: "Yeah, the mechanical adjustment that he made after two outings ago was really good. Staying back a little bit better and commanding the fastball to both sides better. Threw a couple of really good curveballs tonight for strikeouts. So yeah, encouraging for him, for sure."
On what he means by staying back: "Just staying back over the rubber a little more and commanding the ball down. He and (pitching coach Steve McCatty) have been working on that. Like a hitter, if you jump out there, your mechanics get a little off-kilter. So he's just staying back a little bit better and commanding the ball to both sides. So it's an encouraging sign for him."
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