Ross, Nats hold off Giants to secure sweep

SAN FRANCISCO -- Joe Ross went to high school across the Bay in Oakland. When he attended baseball games, he usually went to the Coliseum to watch the A’s, the team he grew up rooting for. Occasionally, however, Ross would make his way across the Bay Bridge to watch games in San Francisco. Each time he returns to pitch in either park, it feels like a homecoming.

Ross’ parents and a group of friends were among the 30,958 fans in attendance Wednesday afternoon as he turned in one of the best outings of his career, six shutout innings with five strikeouts and a pair of walks to lead the Nationals to a 4-1 victory over the Giants. The win completed a three-game sweep for Washington at Oracle Park ahead of what is shaping up to be a crucial weekend series against the red-hot Mets.

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“I always like being here,” Ross said. “Just something about being at home and a little bit more relaxed, game day and really every day.”

Ross has pitched in his hometown twice before -- in San Francisco during his first season in the big leagues in 2015 and during the ‘17 season in Oakland -- but this was his first career win at either park. This was also only the second start in his career during which he lasted at least six innings without allowing a run; the other came on April 15, 2016, when he tossed 7 2/3 scoreless against the Phillies.

Each of those outings came before Ross required Tommy John surgery in 2017, and he has been trying to find himself ever since. His past two outings during this road trip could be reasons for optimism from the Nats.

Despite issuing five walks his last time out against the D-backs, Ross also did not allow a run and held Arizona to one hit in 5 1/3 innings. On the road trip, he totaled 11 1/3 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and seven walks, thanks to some tweaks to his pitch mix and mechanics urged by the Nationals.

“It just shows that the adjustments I guess I’ve made the last couple days or last couple weeks have been working in game situations,” Ross said. “So that's more of a confidence booster than anything right there.”

The Nats have made two key adjustments with Ross. The first is with his mechanics, and a slight tweak to his delivery is keeping him more closed on the front side, which helps him with more late action on his sinker and to maintain his velocity throughout his outing. Second, Ross has started to rely on his slider (he threw nine Wednesday) less and his curveball (he threw 13) more while also continuing to rely on his two-seamer frequently. His curveball has averaged 81.4 mph on the season, giving him a slower pitch to change speeds and give hitters another look to consider along with his four-seam fastball and changeup.

“I told him, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing,’” manager Dave Martinez said. “His two-seamer is working. He’s throwing his four-seamer on occasion. His changeup was really good today. I really like what he did.”

With Max Scherzer on the injured list and the fifth starter unsettled in this rotation, the Nationals have had to rely on Erick Fedde and Ross to fill the void. The results in this series were encouraging, and the past two outings from Ross have given the Nats a chance to envision Ross joining the staff as a reliable starter.

“I didn’t like it -- I loved it,” pitching coach Paul Menhart said about Ross’ adjustments. “He’s not far away from getting to be where we can rely on him every fifth day and know what we’re going to get.”