Baker bemoans 11 whiffs in 1-1 tie (plus roster moves)

VIERA, Fla. - The Nationals struck out 11 times Monday against Astros pitching, including three whiffs in the final two innings with the potential go-ahead run in scoring position. That's too much fanning for manager Dusty Baker, who wants his team to make sure they're not overaggressive at the plate.

"Boy, it's a little frustrating when you've got a chance to win over and over, and strikeouts have plagued us."

In the eighth, with Reed Johnson on third after Stephen Drew's two-out single, both Jose Lobaton and Trea Turner swung at third strikes from Jordan Jankowski. In the ninth, Edwar Cabrera got Jason Martinson swinging for the game's final out with runners on second and third.

"It's a matter of concentration, really," Baker said. "Some of those balls aren't strikes when they leave the hand. It's concentration. You want to do it so badly, but sometimes it's counterproductive. We'll get them."

The Nationals left 12 men on base and were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Righty Joe Ross did his best to keep the Astros in check, allowing only a first-inning solo homer to Carlos Correa, who crushed a splitter over the fence in left-center for the visitors' only run.

"Joe gave up only that home run and he didn't give it up to a slouch," Baker said. "Joe Ross, he was electric today. He threw easy gas and easy strikes."

Ross, who allowed a run on five hits over four innings, said he threw all of his pitches and had the most luck with his changeup.

"Today was definitely by far the best it's felt" Ross said. "I think I got one, maybe two strikeouts with it. As far as how it felt in my hand, it was a lot better. I think that directly translates onto the mound with being more confident."

The right-hander, who is locked in a three-way battle with righties Bronson Arroyo and Tanner Roark for the final two spots in the Nationals rotation, said his third start of the spring felt better than the previous two.

"I felt a lot better today in terms of kind of letting it loose. ... Velo felt better on the fastball," he said. "Slider felt pretty good. I threw some really good changeups. Only one splitter and that was the home run."

After the game, the Nationals optioned outfielder Brian Goodwin and left-hander Sammy Solis to Triple-A Syracuse, and left-hander Nick Lee catcher Spencer Kieboom and infielder Chris Bostick to Double-A Harrisburg. Outfielder Logan Schafer and infielder Matt Skole have been reassigned to minor league camp.

A housekeeping note: Mark Zuckerman returns to the beat tomorrow to take you through the rest of spring training and into the regular season. It's been a blast keeping you up on all things Nationals over the past 10 days, and a special thanks to all who have interacted in the comments section, on Twitter and in person here in Florida.