Following rainout, Hill, Roark set for NLDS Game 2
WASHINGTON -- The Dodgers can enter Game 2 of this National League Division Series with as many positive feelings as they want.
The Dodgers won the opener, 4-3, on Friday night at Nationals Park, and they did it on a night when their ace, Clayton Kershaw, was far from his best. They belted two home runs off Nationals ace Max Scherzer, tagging him for four runs over six innings, and then the Dodgers' bullpen held on with four shutout frames.
The Nationals, on the other hand, are in a much more precarious situation, facing the possibility of not only falling behind by two games in a best-of-five series but also losing the first two at home.
Game 2, which was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon but washed out by inclement weather, will air at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on Sunday on FS1. A large part of the circumstantial burden will fall, fairly or not, on the Nats' Game 2 starter, Tanner Roark. He has had some familiarity with drawing the short straw.
In 2014, Roark, in his first full season in the Majors, went 15-10 with a 2.85 ERA for the Nationals. That offseason, the Nats signed Scherzer to a pricey free-agent deal. The following Spring Training, Jordan Zimmermann, who was then a mainstay in Washington's rotation, said that while the acquisition of Scherzer was very exciting, it also meant that one Nationals pitcher who deserved to start was going to lose his spot in the rotation.
That one pitcher turned out to be Roark. He put together a 2015 in that thankless long-man/spot starter role that can come in very handy for a team but rarely does a lot of long-term career building for the pitcher involved.
But when Zimmermann left in free agency for Detroit after the season, Roark returned to the rotation. His basic numbers were stunningly similar to his work from 2014: 16-10 with a 2.83 ERA.
So Roark gets high marks not only for mastering his craft but also for taking one for the team. Before the start of the series, Nationals manager Dusty Baker had said that the Nationals had not decided between Roark and Gio Gonzalez as the Game 2 starter. Baker on Friday admitted that the choice had already been made.
"Well, you know, we weren't debating that much; we were just kind of messing with you guys to tell you the truth," Baker told reporters with a smile. "You know, just we went with our two best. Even though the [Dodgers] are predominately a left-handed-hitting lineup, we just went with our two guys that were the best, and Gio will go third."
Roark indicated on Friday that he was thrilled with this opportunity.
"I'm very excited," Roark said. "I was already nervous before I woke up this morning, and I'm not pitching till [Saturday]. It's just the kind of person I am to, you know, want to win and the will to win, and to go out there and see everybody succeed is the ultimate goal."
Roark will be opposed by veteran lefty Rich Hill, who is a remarkable success story himself. Hill was pitching in Independent ball in the middle of the 2015 season, then had four impressive starts with the Red Sox that earned him a contract with Oakland in '16. Traded to the Dodgers, Hill put up a 1.83 ERA in six starts with Los Angeles.
Hill has been troubled by a blister on his pitching hand, but that's a very small cloud in the bright blue sky of Hill's rejuvenated career. He'll have a chance to carve out more comeback history for himself and a two-game lead in this series for the Dodgers.
The Nats, meanwhile, were in an underdog position at the beginning of the series despite being the higher seed, and they are deeper into that category now. But that designation doesn't bother Baker.
"I've been an underdog most of my life," Baker said. "I have two drawings on my wall by Joe Smith. He was the 'Underdog' artist, and actually, "Underdog" was one of my favorite cartoon characters, so I like underdog.
"I've heard in the past that this team was favored the last couple years and didn't do much, so perhaps we'll do more as the underdog than as the favorites."
Michael Bauman is a columnist for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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