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Biography
Tanner B. Roark (/roʊˈɑːrk/ roh-ARK; born October 5, 1986) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball. He played college baseball at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2006–2007.
Professional career
Early career
Roark played one season with the Southern Illinois Miners of the independent Frontier League in 2008. In 3 games, he was 0–2 with a 21.41 ERA. In just 9.2 innings, he gave up 23 hits along with 25 runs while striking out 11.
Roark was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 25th round of the 2008 Amateur Player Draft. In July 2010, he was traded along with Ryan Tatusko to the Nationals for Cristian Guzman.
In 2011 he was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse, and posted, in 28 games (26 starts) an unremarkable 6–17 record, but he posted a 4.39 ERA with 7.9 strikeouts and 2.9 walks per nine innings. He began the 2012 season in Syracuse as a starter, then joined the bullpen for 20 relief appearances. Roark moved back to the rotation and had the best stretch of his career, allowing only 12 earned runs over 48 2⁄3 innings in eight starts.
Washington Nationals
On August 6, 2013, Roark was called up to the majors for the first time, and on the next day pitched two innings of scoreless relief, allowing only one hit. By the end of August he had appeared in nine games in relief, allowing earned runs only twice, and compiling an ERA of 1.19 over 22 2⁄3 innings. On September 7 Roark made his first major league start against the Miami Marlins, pitching six innings, allowing no runs and four hits, no walks, and four strikeouts, getting the win. Roark's dominance continued with a September 17 start against the rival Atlanta Braves in which he pitched seven innings and allowed no runs on just three baserunners. His ERA dropped to 1.08 in 41 2⁄3 innings. On April 26, 2014, Roark threw his first career complete game shutout (with a perfect game until the 6th), allowing only 3 hits in a 4–0 win over the San Diego Padres.
Pitching style
Roark's main pitch is a sinker at 92–95 mph. Against right-handed hitters, he also features a slider at 84–86 mph. Against lefties he mixes in a curveball at 75–78 mph and a changeup at 83–85 mph. He also has a little-used four-seam fastball at 92–95 mph.