Composed and confident, rookie Joe Ross continues to impress

FLUSHING, N.Y. - For the second time in less than two weeks, Nationals rookie right-hander Joe Ross went toe-to-toe with Mets ace Jacob deGrom, last year's National League Rookie of the Year. Ross was stingy, dominating eight of the nine batters in the Mets lineup. Lucas Duda, the lone exception, was the difference in the game.

"He pitched well," Nationals manager Matt Williams said about Ross. "A couple of swings from Duda, other than that he pitched really well for us. He gave us a chance. We scored a couple early but just couldn't muster anything after that."

Duda's solo homer off Ross to lead off the fourth was the Mets' first hit of the evening. Then, with the Nats clinging to a narrow one-run lead in the seventh, Ross just missed another sinker and the scorching Duda made him pay, belting another solo shot to deep left.

"Neither were pitches I would've assumed he could hit out like he did," Ross said. "He had a hell of a game."

Those were about the only two mistakes Ross made all night. The 22-year-old allowed two runs on four hits with one walk and six strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings.

Ross, the Padres' 2011 first-round draft pick, was relatively unknown when the Nationals acquired him in January's three-way trade with San Diego and Tampa Bay, a trade that also netted highly-ranked prospect Trea Turner. But after six starts, it hasn't taken long for Ross to earn the respect of the some of the veteran leaders in the Nationals clubhouse.

"He's awesome, man," Ian Desmond said. "That kid's got really good stuff. He did a great job. I'm sure he'd like to take that one back, but he's gonna be around this game for a long time. He's got some serious composure on the mound. That's what impresses me the most."

Ross became the first pitcher since 1914 to begin a major league career with six straight starts of at least four strikeouts and no more than one walk. Furthermore, Ross has yet to allow an extra-base hit to a right-handed batter in each of his six starts.

After missing over two months with a fractured left wrist, Jayson Werth finally got the opportunity to play behind Ross. The compliments were flowing when the 35-year-old Werth was asked what impresses him most about the rookie.

"A lot," Werth said. "His composure. His ability to make pitches. His stuff. His mound presence. His demeanor. He's out there pitching like he's been around a while. I think he's got a future in this game."

Meanwhile, Ross has pitched and delivered on some fairly big stages early in his career. Stepping in for an injured Stephen Strasburg in early June, Ross made his debut against a talented Cubs team, which finds themselves in the thick of a playoff race. Two weeks later, Ross outpitched All-Star A.J. Burnett, striking out 11 to beat the Pirates in front of jam-packed Nats Park.

Last weekend, a capacity crowd at PNC Park watched Ross more than hold his own against Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole, who leads the majors with 14 wins. And Saturday night, Ross again proved the size of the stage doesn't faze him as he tangled with deGrom in a crucial division battle before the second-largest crowd to ever see a game at Citi Field.

"I don't really notice, but I feel like every game it's like, 'Oh, and we had a sellout today,'" Ross joked after the game. "And I'm like 'Oh.' I guess it's a good thing I didn't notice all the fans and, I guess, extra pressure. But yeah, I'm happy with how I've been doing so far. Hopefully, I can improve every start and just go from there."

Through his six starts, Ross is 2-3 with a 3.00 ERA and 0.923 WHIP while striking out 40 and walking just four over 39 innings. Strasburg's second stint on the DL is seemingly nearing an end as the right-hander is expected make his final rehab start tomorrow for Triple-A Syracuse. Strasburg will obviously rejoin the rotation when he's ready. The question is will Ross fill his roster spot back in Syracuse?