Nationals’ Joe Ross Returns
Earning the return
As late as the trade deadline, the idea of Ross making a significant appearance again for the Nationals seemed laughable. It simply wasn’t conceivable that the Nats could be foolish enough to entrust further innings to this guy – let alone have him take the rotation spot of team MVP and a future Hall-of-Famer.
But here’s the twist: he’s been great! Ross gave up his first run in three starts on Tuesday, ending a 17 1/3 scoreless inning streak since taking Scherzer’s spot in the rotation.
Ross is 3-0 with a 0.50 ERA in 18 innings over that span. Maybe there’s some residual magic left in Scherzer’s wake, and when he returns, Ross will turn back into a pumpkin. But for now, he looks….comfortable?
The question here is consistency. Is Ross the guy with a 9.85 ERA in 24+ innings? Or the guy with a 0.50 ERA in 18 innings?
In baseball as in fairy tales, if one offering looks too hot, and another too cold, somewhere in the middle is probably jussssssst right. Say, a 5.91 ERA/4.88 FIP in 42+ innings, which is where Ross’ overall numbers stand today.