Joe Ross Impressive Once Again In Washington Nationals 4-2 Victory over Marlins

Washington Nationals’ starter Joe Ross and Miami Marlins’ righty Tom Koehler each gave up a run in the first inning. Jayson Werth and Clint Robinson drove in three runs combined in the seventh to give Ross his first win the season, 4-2.

Today, at Nationals Park, the Nats were able to score three runs in the seventh inning en route to a 4-2 win over the Miami Marlins to earn a split of the short two-game series. Before the game, manager Dusty Baker made some changes to the lineup as he gave Ryan Zimmerman the day off in favor of Clint Robinson.

The offense supported young starter Joe Ross (seven inning pitched, one earned run allowed on five hits, five strikeouts, and two walks) with timely hitting and quality defense Sunday afternoon. While three of the four Nationals runs came after Ross would last pitch, the continually impressive 22-year-old received the win and an early-season confidence boost. The 4-2 win pushes the Nationals record to 3-1, and dropped the Marlins to 1-3.

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Dee Gordon hit a triple into the left-centerfield gap to lead off the game. Afterward, Ross struggled to throw strikes, walking Christian Yelich with one-out, allowing Giancarlo Stanton to hit with two men on base. Interestingly, that’s the fourth time in two games the Nationals have walked the batter before Stanton.He’s more likely than ever to do damage in that situation, and did; a single on a full count drove in Gordon to score the game’s first run.

Ross last pitched eight days ago in an exhibition matchup against the Minnesota Twins. He was scheduled for yesterday, but the postponement pushed back his start. That didn’t matter, though. After allowing a run in the first inning, Ross retired ten out of the next 11 batters en route to one of his best major league starts to date.