Williams: Ross "pitched well" in tough loss to Mets

Right-hander Joe Ross did his best to keep the Nationals in the game Tuesday. And for six-plus innings he did just that.

But the seventh inning did not turn out the way the Nationals and Ross would have hoped.

The Mets scored two runs in the seventh on a pinch-hit two-run single from Eric Campbell off Aaron Barrett. A single and a costly error by Clint Robinson set up the inning. Ross was lifted right before Campbell stepped in.

"(We) are going to get to (Barrett) there with guys on second and third," Williams said. "Joe made a good pitch to get the popup. So they went to Campbell, and Barrett's good matchup for Campbell. He just left his slider up."

"I felt good," Ross said. "It's one of those situations where I wanted to stay in and try and pitch out of it, but bringing in Barrett was probably the smart move. I can't really complain about that, (they) made the smart decision."

Ross (2-2) did finish 6 1/3 innings, allowing only four hits, three runs, two earned runs, no walks and struck out four. The no walks was a big statistic as Ross showed good command in only his fourth major league start. He also did not allow the Mets a hit until the fourth inning.

"I thought he pitched well," Williams said. "He was in command the whole time he was out there. Got up there in pitches and had some trouble in that last inning. But I thought he pitched great."

"I was throwing a lot of fastballs, trying to get ahead, stay ahead, kind of not to mess around," Ross said. "But they were putting the ball in play and making good plays out there."

Ross said big picture he is thrilled that the Nationals selected him for the call-up. Williams told the media prior to Tuesday's game that Ross would stay in the rotation until Stephen Strasburg (oblique) returns from the disabled list.

"It's definitely an honor being the guy for right now that they can call up and trust to win a game in such a big situation against the Mets," Ross said. "It's still a game, you got to go out there and pitch. I try not to get too caught up in the whole situation."

Ross came over from San Diego in a three-team, 11-player trade between the Padres, Rays and Nationals. He said he focused from the beginning on just trying to pitch well with his new team and not worry about where he was pitching.

"Honestly, I didn't really know what to expect coming into this season, my first year with the Nationals," Ross said. "It was kind of whenever they had planned for me, you know was go from there. I've been lucky enough to have a really good opportunity making four starts up here, starting the year in Double-A and then up and down from Triple-A.

"I've had fun, that's really my main focus, not get too caught up in what's going on. We have a great team here, obviously. So it's good to be up here and be part of the mix."