Turner, Zimmerman and Murphy go yard (Nats win 11-4)

DENVER - The Nationals starting pitcher helped fuel an early rally for the second night in a row.

In the top of the second Wednesday night, Daniel Murphy led off with a single. With one out, Jayson Werth walked. Jose Lobaton grounded back to the pitcher, moving the runners into scoring position.

Tanner Roark worked back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk off of Rockies starter Tyler Chatwood. That loaded the bases, and allowed the lineup to turn over.

Adam Eaton took advantage by lacing a two-run single to right field. Carlos González was charged with an error on his throw home to catcher Tony Wolters. The error moved Roark and Eaton into scoring position. Trea Turner grounded to shortstop to end the inning.

Tuesday night, a two-out walk with Joe Ross batting opened the door to a five-run second inning. The Nationals ended up hanging on for a 15-12 victory over Colorado.

Roark walked the first batter he faced in the first inning, but then picked off Charlie Blackmon at first. He then struck out DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado.

He surrendered a hit to Mark Reynolds in the second but did not allow a run across.

Two innings complete in Denver: The Nationals lead the Rockies 2-0.

Update: Trea Turner crushed a solo homer to deep left-center field, his second of the season, to start the scoring in the fifth. After Harper was walked, Ryan Zimmerman launched a two-run shot, his eighth, over the right field wall. Zimmerman is now hitting .451 (14-for-31) with five homers and 14 RBIs on this road trip.

It's the mid-fifth in Denver and the Nationals have opened up a 5-0 lead over the Rockies.

Update II: Roark had some control problems in the fifth. Tony Wolters singled with one out. Roark then walked three batters in a row. DJ LeMahieu's walk scored the Rockies' first run. Nolan Arenado then grounded into a fielder's choice at second base to score the second Rockies run. Roark was able to get González to swing and miss at a two-strike curveball to end the rally.

After five innings, the Nationals lead the Rockies, 5-2.

Update III: Roark finished five innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs, but four walks with four strikeouts. This is only the fourth time in his previous 37 starts that Roark had allowed more than three walks in a start. He fired 104 pitches, 62 for strikes.

Update IV: Zimmerman hit a run-scoring single in the seventh. Murphy blasted a three-run shot over the right field wall to lift the Nationals to a 9-2 lead over the Rockies. The Nats have now scored 24 runs in their last 26 innings here at Coors Field. As the game heads to the seventh, Blake Treinen is in for Oliver Pérez.

Update V: The Nationals scored two more runs in the eighth on a RBI double by Turner and a run-scoring single from Bryce Harper. The Rockies did likewise in their eighth, with an RBI double by Gerardo Parra and a run-scoring single from Alexi Amarista. After eight innings, the Nationals lead 11-4.

Update VI: Matt Grace came on and pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball on the day he joined the club again. He enjoyed a 1-2-3 ninth inning. The Nationals take down the Rockies, 11-4. They are 15-6 and are 9-3 on the road. The Nats have won eight of their last nine games.