Joe Ross was on a nice run in August, settling back into the Nationals’ rotation with a 1.05 ERA, 13 walks, 16 Ks, and a .200/.301/.267 line against in five starts and 25 2⁄3 innings, but the month of September started with a rough outing for the right-hander, who gave up a total of eight hits, three walks, and seven earned runs in 3 2⁄3 IP against New York’s Mets.
Then Ross experienced forearm discomfort throwing between outings after that start, and before Tuesday’s outing he hadn’t pitched in three weeks, though Bench Coach Chip Hale, taking manager Davey Martinez’s place in Monday’s pregame presser, said that the right-hander, who had Tommy John surgery in 2017, made good progress recently.