Ross delivers another standout performance

Rookie right-hander Joe Ross was again outstanding - on a night when the Nationals lost two position players during a 4-2 win and announced after the game that their leadoff man could be done for the season.

Yunel Escobar left in the fifth with a hand injury and Michael A. Taylor hurt his knee in the seventh. Taylor was in for Denard Span, who did not play because of back tightness. After the game manager Matt Williams said that Span will have to go back on the disabled list with left hip inflammation.

But Ross twirled six frames on only 77 pitches, allowing one hit and one unearned run with two walks and seven strikeouts for his fifth win of the season as the Nationals beat the Padres 4-2.

Ross has allowed only one earned run in his last 13 innings. After two losses in a row on the tough western trip, Ross has stormed back to win two in a row.

Williams said Ross builds innings by establishing command.

"More of the same," Williams said. "A few more changeups to the lefties tonight. I think that was working for him better then it has in the past. Good sliders. Good sliders with two strikes down and away, looking like it's a strike and tailing back off the plate. He pitched really well and he'll be ready for his next one."

Ross said he was not feeling the command as much as Williams thought. But he kept working with catcher Wilson Ramos to get through each inning early on. Ross had at least one strikeout in each of the first three innings.

"Good game. My command was a little iffy the first two or three batters, but then after that made kind of an adjustment," Ross said. "They made good plays behind me and they scored in clutch situations."

Ross said he also was able to get the Padres to go for pitches early in each count. He threw only 77 pitches against the Padres after firing only 82 pitches in the win over Milwaukee on Saturday.

"Fastball, I was throwing inside," Ross said. "Slider was good. Only threw a few changeups. Command got better as the game went along. I think early count balls put in play definitely helped with the pitch count."

Ross agreed with Williams that his slider was clicking and that helped him get strikeouts, including two more in the sixth inning, his final frame of the night.

"It felt pretty good," Ross said. "I think after the first couple, I kind of feel like I could snap out of my fingers. It was a good pitch throughout the night, especially later on when (it was) the second or third time through the lineup."

So was Ross surprised then that he was lifted after just six frames even though he had allowed only one unearned run and one hit?

"I wasn't really expecting it," Ross said. "But (the) call to the bullpen, it's not really my decision. So it's fine with me, I guess."

Williams explained that because the club was able to build a bit of a cushion they decided to hand the ball over to the bullpen up 3-1.

"We got two in that (fifth) inning," Williams said. "And we could get him out of there after the six. It was good for him. It'll just help him stretch through his next starts."

Ross is now at 142 2/3 innings on the season, combining his major and minor league totals. That is 20 more innings than he ever has accumulated in a full season. Does he think the Nationals will limit his innings in the coming weeks?

"I'm not sure. I don't know," Ross said. "I guess just go out and keep throwing until they tell me I'm done."

Ross did watch as Michael A. Taylor go down to injury in the seventh. Plus he knew about Yunel Escobar's hand injury in the fifth.

"It's tough to see Mikey run into the wall like that," Ross said. "He's played plenty of good plays doing things just like that. Hopefully he's back in a couple of days."