Matt Williams on Bryce Harper: "The secret to his success is patience"

Bryce Harper has experienced a rough two nights in Miami.

He did everything possible to will the Nationals to victory on Wednesday night at home - smacking two homers and a double and scoring all three runs - but it wasn't enough to catch the Mets in the 5-3 loss.

On Friday night in Miami, Harper went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and a walk. The 22-year-old collected one of the two hits the Nats managed off Marlins ace Jose Fernandez last night, but then he was quickly doubled up at first when Ian Desmond lined out.

Harper ended up 1-for-4 with two strikeouts, which included a whiff in the ninth when he represented the tying run with Anthony Rendon on third base and only one out.

Including Wednesday's bonanza, Harper is just 4-for-19 (.211), with nine strikeouts over his last five games.

"I don't think he's getting frustrated," Nationals manager Matt Williams told reporters last night. "I think that for him, again, the secret to his success is patience."

Harper still owns the National League's best slash line at .333/.464/.649. The Nats slugger is third in the league with 36 homers, two behind Colorado's Nolan Arenado.

Right-hander Joe Ross made his first appearance for the Nats since transitioning to the bullpen. Following his last start, the Nats made the call to use Ross in relief for the remainder of his rookie season with his innings limit approaching.

Ross started the sixth, getting the leadoff hitter J.T. Realmuto to fly out. Ichiro Suzuki followed with a sharp groundball base hit to left and then Miguel Rojas reached safely on a bunt single.

Facing pinch-hitter Casey McGehee, Ross used his nasty slider for a strikeout. Then, Williams went to left-hander Matt Thornton to face Dee Gordon.

"It was OK," Williams said to reporters about Ross' first relief chance. "I think that he's gonna have to get used to that because we're just gonna limit his innings the rest of the way. (Last night) was an example of giving him plenty of time to warm up. He knew going in that he would be having that inning so he had a plenty of time. So that's a good thing. It allows him to make sure he's fully hot before he gets in there."