As we head into the second half of the season, I wanted to focus on one X-Factor that will be the difference to the Washington Nationals winning the NL East. When you look at the rotation, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg have been one of the best duos in baseball.
If the Washington Nationals are going to win the NL East and make a deep run in October, they need Tanner Roark to be the dependable third starter. It all stars Saturday night when Roark makes his first start of the second half against the Pittsburgh Pirates:
#Nats rotation this weekend vs #Pirates:
FRI: Strasburg
SAT: Roark
SUN: Scherzer— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) July 14, 2016
With Joe Ross on the disabled list to start the second half and Gio Gonzalez showing inconsistency over the last two months, Roark becomes an important figure in this rotation.