Washington Nationals players bow their heads during a moment of silence before Game 1 of their day-night doubleheader MLB National League baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in Washington yesterday. RIGHT: New York Yankees Andy Pettitte pitches to the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning of their MLB American League game in Toronto, yesterday.
WASHINGTON: Washington Nationals rookie pitcher Tanner Roark wanted to keep going.
He had thrown 101 pitches - 23 more than he’d ever thrown in a single game - but still wasn’t ready to call it a night.
“I said, ‘Nice game.’ He said, ‘You sure I’m through?”’ Nationals manager Davey Johnson said as he began to smile. “I said, ‘Yeah, you’re through.”
Roark was through, but Washington certainly isn’t.
The right-hander threw seven shutout innings, and the Nationals beat the Atlanta Braves 4-0 to sweep a day-night doubleheader yesterday, ensuring the Braves leave Washington without the NL East title.
The Nationals entered the nightcap, which followed their 6-5 win in the makeup of a series opener postponed by a shooting rampage a day earlier at the nearby Navy Yard, within 4 1/2 games of Cincinnati for the NL’s second wild-card berth. Washington. Roark (7-0) allowed just two hits, struck out six and retired the final 13 batters he faced. Johnson even seemed to make up a word - “posure,” apparently a cross between poise and composure - to describe Roarke.
“It’s not smoke and mirrors right now,” first baseman Adam LaRoche said. “When you get guys coming down to first talking about how good his stuff is, some really good hitters that are praising him, it says a lot.”
After being called up in August, Roark was making just his third start.
“I’m just trying to do the same thing as I was doing all year and not trying to change anything,” Roark said. “Keep the same mentality, a bulldog mentality, not giving in to anybody in any sense.”
Roarke and the Nationals got cushion in the eighth inning, when Ryan Zimmerman hit a home run, Ian Desmond hit an RBI double and Adam LaRoche hit an RBI single. Steve Lomardozzi had a second-inning RBI single off Freddy Garcia (1-2).
Denard Span ‘s fifth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 28 games, breaking a tie with Colorado’s Michael Cuddyer for the longest in the major leagues the last two seasons.
The Braves have lost nine of 13, but they still lead the division by eight games over Washington despite the sweep.AGENCIES
