Ross sees first action for Nats' ailing bullpen

NEW YORK -- Right-hander Joe Ross walked into the Nationals' clubhouse around 11 a.m. ET on Sunday morning, still sleepy-eyed from his cross-country red-eye flight that left California the night before. He showered and changed before he was summoned into manager Dave Martinez’s office to discuss his new role in this Nationals bullpen.

And then hours later, Ross found himself on the mound for the ninth inning of Sunday’s 12-9 victory over the Mets at Citi Field, the latest reliever Martinez has tested to try and get outs. Ross recorded just one out, hitting a batter, walking another and then surrendering a three-run homer to Michael Conforto, forcing the Nats to bring on Sean Doolittle to seal the game.

“I felt good, my arm felt good,” Ross said. “Despite obviously flying overnight, body felt good. Just kind of trying to be a little bit too perfect and then walked those two guys, and left the changeup up. But physically I felt good, it was good to be back on the mound. I wouldn’t say quite settled in, but we’ll get there."

At the end of Spring Training, Martinez emphasized that he and the Nats believe Ross is a starter and they sent him to Triple-A Fresno to begin building up his stamina to handle a starter’s workload. That was before Washington’s bullpen became in dire need of help.

And after the 'pen gave up three runs in the eighth inning on Saturday afternoon, leading to a 6-5 loss to the Mets, the Nationals summoned Ross, who was scheduled to make his first start for Fresno on Monday. Adrian Sanchez was optioned to Double-A Harrisburg to make room on the roster, leaving the club with a short bench for now, but the bullpen is a more pressing concern.

“He’s a reliever,” Martinez said. “He’s going to come out and he’s going to pitch. I told him there will be some days where he comes out and he pitches one inning. If we deem it necessary, he could pitch a couple innings, it would be great. But he’s a reliever and he’s going to pitch.”

The change in tune comes from necessity. Nationals relievers entered Sunday with a Major League worst 10.02 ERA to start the season and then proceeded to give up five runs and turn what had been a 12-1 advantage into a three-run game after the Mets scored eight unanswered runs. Martinez is searching for answers to record outs in the eighth inning -- the Nats have allowed 17 runs during the frame -- but without much success. He needed five relievers to record the final eight outs of Sunday's rubber game.

So, perhaps Ross can help. He made three starts in the Majors last September after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and he showed some promise of regaining his old form, with a fastball in the mid-90s and increased use of his changeup to give him a third pitch, along with his slider. Before Sunday, he had not appeared out of the bullpen in the Majors since his rookie year in 2015, and all but four of his 51 big league appearances have been starts.

Worth noting

With Sanchez now at Double-A, the Nationals do not have another true shortstop on the roster besides Wilmer Difo. Martinez said Anthony Rendon would fill in at shortstop for a few innings in an emergency with Howie Kendrick at third base.

Michael A. Taylor played in both games of a doubleheader on Saturday and is scheduled to DH on Sunday during his Minor League rehab assignment. The Nats haven’t set an exact timeline, but it sounds like he could rejoin the team soon.