Another ragged, and brief, outing for Ross (Nats lose, 10-4)

OAKLAND, Calif. - Joe Ross' homecoming turned into a nightmare.

Making his first major league start at the Oakland Coliseum, just 10 minutes from his childhood home, Ross was rocked by the Athletics and was pulled after only three laborious innings.

Ross allowed seven runs (six earned), served up a pair of home runs and needed a whopping 82 pitches just to record nine outs in his latest ragged start, which leaves the Nationals now faced with a tough decision about how to proceed.

This outing came only six days after Ross was tagged by the Padres for five runs and 12 hits in four innings. In six total big league starts this year, he now sports a 7.34 ERA.

Ross was excited heading into this start, knowing he'd have a host of family members and friends in the stands for his first professional appearance at the Coliseum. (He pitched here once before while playing for Bishop O'Dowd High School.)

But the right-hander immediately got into trouble. Jed Lowrie, the Athletics' third batter of the game, launched a two-run homer. Three batters later, Ryon Healy launched his own two-run homer to put the Nationals in a 4-0 hole.

Lowrie's two-run double in the bottom of the second added to the damage, and then a Stephen Drew error with two runners in scoring position brought home another run in the third.

The Nationals have attempted to claw their way back into this one. Adam Lind's three-run homer in the top of the third ignited the lineup and trimmed the deficit to two runs for a few moments.

With a chance to take the lead in the top of the fifth, though, Michael A. Taylor struck out with the bases loaded, leaving the Nats down 7-4.

Update: There have been opportunities for the Nationals to rally this afternoon, but they have squandered those opportunities. And now the A's have extended their lead to a point where a comeback is looking less and less plausible. Back-to-back home runs by Yonder Alonso and Healy off Jacob Turner in the bottom of the seventh have put Oakland ahead 10-4. The Nats will need a major rally in the final two innings to remain undefeated on the road trip.

Update II: It's all over. The Nats lose this one, 10-4, and they lose for the first time on this road trip after four straight wins. They'll try to salvage the series Sunday afternoon when Tanner Roark takes the mound.