Roark is latest starting pitcher to labor (Nationals lose 10-8)

For all their pitching struggles and overuse in the last two weeks, the Nationals had to at least take solace knowing one of their most reliable starters would be on the mound tonight: Tanner Roark.

Then Roark took the mound and picked up where the rest of the Nationals pitching staff left off. And that's not a good thing.

Roark labored mightily through his first inning, throwing 39 pitches to nine batters, with four of them scoring to give the Orioles a commanding early lead.

It has been a highly uncharacteristic outing so far for Roark, who has both been hit hard (Manny Machado's two-run homer over the left field bullpen) and displayed a jarring lack of command (one walk, three hit batters in a span of 10).

The Nationals desperately needed quality innings tonight out of Roark after watching their starters struggle during their just-completed nine-game road trip, averaging five innings per outing and putting extra pressure on a tired bullpen to pick up the slack.

But two innings into this game, Roark's pitch count already stood at 62, though he settled down for a quick, 10-pitch top of the third to help right his ship.

The Nationals lineup, meanwhile, has put pressure on Orioles starter Wade Miley but has managed only one run so far while also running into outs on the bases. Third base coach Bob Henley waved around Daniel Murphy on Anthony Rendon's RBI single and watched as the All-Star was thrown out by 20 feet.

The good news: Trea Turner is 2-for-2 tonight and has hits in his last six at-bats. The bad news: Murphy is 0-for-2 tonight with a double play and is hitless in his last six at-bats.

Update: They've completed five innings here. Roark managed to settle down and keep the Orioles off the board after the top of the second, but with his pitch count at 111, he's done. His teammates are trying to chip away at the deficit, but Danny Espinosa's solo homer in the bottom of the fifth (his 20th of the year) is all they've mustered off Wade Miley since the bottom of the first. Turner is now 7 for his last 7. So as they head to the sixth inning, the Nats trail 5-2 and now turn to their bullpen.

Update II: The Nats are trying to claw their way back into this game. They just can't get enough hits in big spots to pull it off. Murphy did deliver a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh, trimming the deficit to 5-3. But Bryce Harper struck out flailing at a 3-2 slider from Donnie Hart, unable to keep his front shoulder closed against the lefty. Turner did get another hit earlier in the inning, leaving him 8 for his last 8 to tie the franchise record held by Andre Dawson (1983) and Dmitri Young (2007). But to win this game, the Nats still need to score at least two more runs off a very tough Baltimore bullpen.

Update III: And the wheels have fallen off this truck. Blake Treinen gave up five runs in the top of the eighth, three of them on Matt Wieters' homer to center field. It's 10-3 Orioles, and barring a miracle, the Nats will be trying to avoid a four-game sweep tomorrow night.

Update IV: It's over. But it sure did get interesting in the bottom of the ninth. Murphy hit a grand slam off Parker Bridwell to cut the deficit to 10-7 and force Buck Showalter to summon Zach Britton from the bullpen. Then Harper singled and Rendon doubled, cutting it to 10-8 and bringing Wilson Ramos to the plate representing the tying run. Britton made a poor decision trying to catch Rendon off second base on a comebacker, leaving everybody safe and bringing Zimmerman to the plate representing the winning run. But Zimmerman grounded into a 4-6-3 double play on the first pitch, and that's all she wrote. Nats lose 10-8. They've lost four straight and lead the National League East by seven games.