Sometimes there’s really no explaining why a pitcher not known for strikeouts suddenly turns into a strikeout artist.
The Washington Nationals had no shortage of theories, however, after Tanner Roark fanned a career-high 15 and allowed only two hits over seven innings Saturday in a 2-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Roark twice struck out the side and fanned at least two strikeouts in four other innings. It was only the second time in 52 career starts the right-hander reached double digits in strikeouts; the other was on July 6, 2014, when he fanned 11 at the San Diego Padres.
“I was throwing four pitches to lefties and righties,” Roark said, “keeping them guessing, uncomfortable at the plate.”
He sure did.
“On a given day, anybody can be world beater. Today was Tanner’s day to do that,” Nationals pitching coach Mike Maddux said. “Just to have that special moment.”
Manager Dusty Baker dug deep to come up with this reason: “He shaved his beard off, so that had something to do with it, probably.”
Roark (2-2) acknowledged that he never felt so sharp on the mound, and the numbers backed up the assessment.
He threw a career-high 121 pitches, 78 of them for strikes. He walked three, got all but six outs via strikeouts and held the Twins (5-13) hitless over his final five innings. The 15 strikeouts were five more than he totaled in his first three starts.
Roark began the day with a 27-20 record and 3.15 ERA in 88 games with the Nationals (13-4).
Roark and a trio of relievers combined to fan 18, the most by the Nationals since their arrival from Montreal in 2005.
Blake Treinen and Oliver Perez worked the eighth. Jonathan Papelbon got three outs to complete the combined two-hitter and earn his seventh save.
Ryan Zimmerman drove in two runs and Bryce Harper had a pair of doubles for the Nationals, whose 13-4 start matches the Expos in 1981 and Nationals in 2012 for the best in franchise history.
It’s also the best record in the major leagues, entering Sunday.
Phil Hughes (1-3) gave up two runs and six hits in seven innings. Half the hits he allowed were in the first inning, when Washington scored all its runs.
“Phil settled down and did a real nice job of completing his outing,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “He did everything he could to give us a chance.”
The Twins’ lone hits were a first-inning single by Joe Mauer and double by Max Kepler in the second.
“Roark had a good day,” Molitor said. “He hasn’t pitched poorly, but he hasn’t pitched great until today. The strikeouts were partly him, partly us. That’s a big number, no matter who’s out there.”
Washington went up, 2-0, in the first when Zimmerman hit a two-run single after Anthony Rendon singled and Harper doubled.
“At the time you’re thinking, ’It’s just two runs, we can hopefully we can find a way to bounce back,’” Hughes said. “But, that wasn’t the case today.”
Stephen Strasburg (3-0, 1.25 ERA) will seek to go 4-0 for the first time. It will be his first career start against the Twins.
The Twins recalled right-hander Tyler Duffey from Triple-A Rochester to start on Sunday. Duffey went 5-1 in 10 games as a rookie last year.
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