LOS ANGELES -- Tanner Roark got Team USA off to a strong start against Japan on Tuesday in the World Baseball Classic semifinals.
The U.S. called upon Roark for the elimination game, which he called the most important start of his career, and the Nationals right-hander delivered, holding the Japanese squad scoreless through four innings in a 2-1 win at Dodger Stadium. Pitching amid a persistent mist and occasional light rain, he made 48 pitches (30 strikes) and allowed just four batters to reach on two hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.
:: 2017 World Baseball Classic ::
"The key tonight, without question was Tanner Roark," Team USA manager Jim Leyland said. "There is no question about that. We needed some innings from him, and he gave us those innings."
Roark exited after 48 pitches (30 strikes). The Nationals placed him on a 50-pitch limit because he hadn't faced live hitters in nine days.
"I felt great. Arm felt good, felt nice and loose," Roark said. "The conditions were a little tough sometimes, but, I mean, both teams got to fight through that and deal with it, so there's nothing you can do about that.
"But Japan has a great team. There are always tough outs, and I can't say enough about that team. They're very good."
The U.S. will be the road team in Wednesday's final against Puerto Rico at 9 p.m. ET on MLB Network and MLB.TV.
Tuesday marked Roark's second Classic appearance. He pitched in relief of Marcus Stroman in the United States' 7-5 first-round loss to the Dominican Republic on March 11. He yielded three runs on three hits and a pair of walks in just 1 1/3 innings as the Dominican team mounted a five-run comeback.
Roark is known for inducing weak contact, and that was apparent on Tuesday night. According to Statcast™, the average exit velocity by Japanese hitters against Roark was 84.4 mph. In 2016, Roark ranked seventh in the Majors in lowest average exit velocity against at 86.4 mph (min. 250 balls in play against). The names above him on that list include Noah Syndergaard, Clayton Kershaw and Chris Sale.
Roark, 30, excelled with the Nationals in 2016, going 16-10 with a 2.83 ERA and leading the Majors with nine scoreless starts of seven or more innings. Roark was invited play for Team USA in January after his Washington teammate Max Scherzer had to withdraw because of a stress fracture in his right ring finger.
The World Baseball Classic runs through Wednesday. In the U.S., games air live exclusively in English on MLB Network and on an authenticated basis via MLBNetwork.com/watch, while ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN provide the exclusive Spanish-language coverage. MLB.TV Premium subscribers in the U.S. have access to watch every tournament game live on any of the streaming service's 400-plus supported devices. The tournament is being distributed internationally across all forms of television, internet, mobile and radio in territories excluding the U.S., Puerto Rico and Japan. Get tickets for the Championship Round at Dodger Stadium, while complete coverage -- including schedules, video, stats and gear -- is available at WorldBaseballClassic.com.