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Washington Nationals News: A year after debut, Joe Ross showing he belongs

By Pablo Roa

May 26, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Joe Ross (41) pitches during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
May 26, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Joe Ross (41) pitches during the first inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Today’s District Daily features stories on Joe Ross’ success at the big league level and the possibility of Daniel Murphy batting .400 for the Washington Nationals.

Good afternoon DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily. Get caught up on the latest Nats news and opinions with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.

In today’s Daily, the Washington Post’s Ben Raby discusses Joe Ross’ success at the big league level. As Raby writes, Ross made his big league debut a year ago yesterday — at the time, he was a Double-A pitcher called up to help an ailing Nationals rotation.

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Since then, however, Ross has developed into one of the game’s most promising young players and has become an integral part of the Nationals’ rotation. The right-hander is set to make his next start tonight against the Phillies.

Also in today’s Daily, the Post’s Chelsea Janes discusses the possibility of Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy batting .400. As Janes notes, Murphy has been the best hitter in baseball this season, and his .395 batting average heading into the month of June puts him in elite company with some of baseball’s most prolific hitters of all time.

Be sure to check out both articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.

In a year since his major league debut, Nationals’ Joe Ross is showing he belongs

(Ben Raby, Washington Post)

With the Nationals leading 2-1 in the seventh inning Thursday against St. Louis, Joe Ross was in a jam. The Cardinals had two runners on and none out, with Ross approaching 100 pitches on a muggy night in D.C.

Rather than replace him with reliever Oliver Perez, who was warming up, manager Dusty Baker let the right-hander work. Ross then struck out Yadier Molina and got Kolten Wong to hit into a double play.

“I’m sold on Joe Ross,” Baker had said before Ross threw seven innings in the 2-1 win. Read full article here.

Could Daniel Murphy hit .400?

(Chelsea Janes, Washington Post)

PHILADELPHIA — Read the headline. Shake your head. Dismiss the notion. Could Daniel Murphy hit .400? Of course not, silly. What a preposterous notion. As crazy as, for example, as the third second baseman theWashington Nationals pursued this offseason turning into the one of the 10 best players in the National League by Wins Above Replacement? No, not quite that crazy. But would you have believed Murphy would be doing this, either?

Next: Daniel Murphy saves the day as Washington Nationals top Phillies

Murphy will wake up the day after Memorial Day hitting .395 — 40 points higher than the next closest big leaguer. He has hit safely twice in more than half the games he has played. Assuming a few days off over the rest of the season, he is on pace for more than 230 hits. A player has finished a major league season with 230 hits or more 36 times. Those players include Ichiro Suzuki, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby and a few other no-names like that. Read full article here.

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