Nats game blog: Tanner Roark looking for first victory against Birds

By Byron Kerr

Nationals

September 24, 2015, 11:14am

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Well, this isn't working out like the Nationals might have hoped it would.

The Nationals need to win games. They are as close to must-win as you can get. Actually, they are getting fearfully close to the point where they will need to win out and require the Mets to lose out.

In the last three games in New York, they have the ability to do that.

It's these other eight games that are the issue.

And the Mets lead is 6 1/2 games, which seems tremendously robust with 11 games remaining.

For two nights in a row, the Mets left a carrot dangling from their front porch and the Nationals just walked on by, falling 4-1 and 4-3 to the Orioles.

Today's rescheduled game was supposed to be a day off for both teams. It's game blog time, Nationals style, as they face off against that Baltimore squad, which resides 39 miles to the northeast.

The pitching matchup is right-hander Tanner Roark (4-6, 4.73 ERA) against former University of Virginia right-hander Tyler Wilson (3-3, 3.72).

Wilson is making his fourth major league start and first against the Nationals.

This is the 10th start for Roark, after winning 15 games last season as a starter. He has 26 wins since his 2013 debut, which ranks tied for 19th in the National League during that span. He has never defeated the Orioles in two games (0-2, 7.71 ERA). His last start against the Orioles was in 2014 when he allowed five earned runs in 6 1/3 innings.

The Nationals need a win in the series finale to finish the season 3-3 against the Orioles.