Roark piling up strikeouts (and pitches) early (Nats win 5-4)

Tanner Roark is piling up strikeouts early in tonight's second half of a day-night doubleheader. Unfortunately, he's also piling up pitches at a rate that could end his night before the Nationals want it to end.

Through three scoreless innings against the Mets, Roark already has five strikeouts. The right-hander has allowed only two of the 11 Mets batters he has faced to reach base. But with deep counts against many of those batters, his pitch count already sits at 60.

Roark has had good stuff, which helped him strike out four batters in succession at one point. He also has benefited from plate umpire Alan Porter, who has offered up a generous strike zone to both clubs so far.

But Roark needed 21 pitches to complete the first inning, 17 to complete the second and 22 to complete the third. That could prove taxing on a Nationals bullpen that already used up for arms to throw the final three innings of this afternoon's doubleheader opener.

Mets starter Seth Lugo has been just as effective as his counterpart, and the right-hander struck out the side in the bottom of the first. Lugo, though, has been much more efficient, needing only 44 pitches to finish his first three innings of the game.

The Nationals and Mets remain scoreless through three, playing this makeup game of a July 5 rainout in front of a sparse crowd on South Capitol Street. In addition to the fact it's a makeup game, the 8:07 p.m. start time, lack of late-night Metro service and the opening of several area school districts Monday morning have contributed to the small gathering for a nationally televised game.

Update: Roark keeps dealing, and the Nats lineup has delivered two runs to give him a lead. Roark struck out the side in the fourth, the second time tonight he's done that. He also retired the side in the fifth on only eight pitches, leaving him at a more manageable 87 total for the game. The right-hander has nine strikeouts. And he has a 2-0 lead thanks to back-to-back-to-back singles from Wilmer Difo, Daniel Murphy and Anthony Rendon in the bottom of the fourth, followed by Adam Lind's sacrifice fly.

Update II: Things have changed quite a bit after a long sixth inning. The Mets strung together three straight hits, capped by Brandon Nimmo's homer, to plate three runs off Roark and suddenly take a 3-2 lead. That left Roark on the hook to take the loss on a night in which he struck out nine and didn't walk anybody. But the Nats stormed right back to tie and then retake the lead ... thanks in no small part to the Mets bullpen, which issued four straight walks, two of them with the bases already loaded. So now the Nats hold a 4-3 as Dusty Baker turns this game over to his bullpen.

Update III: Nats win 5-4 and salvage a doubleheader and series split with the Mets. Lind provided a big insurance run with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth. That came after Shawn Kelley and Joe Blanton combined to pitch a scoreless top of the eighth, with Brandon Kintzler never warming up (and thus likely unavailable today). Sean Doolittle was available to pitch the ninth, though, and despite allowing a run he did proceed to convert his 13th save in as many tries since his acquisition.