- The Washington Times - Sunday, July 4, 2021

When Joe Ross walked off the mound in the seventh inning on Sunday afternoon, it was to a standing ovation at Nationals Park. The right-handed pitcher had his best stuff of the season, but the Nationals’ offense failed to back him up.

Ross fanned a season-high 11 batters and clocked his fastest pitch of the season, a 97-mph fastball, but the Los Angeles Dodgers completed the series sweep, winning 5-1. 

The right-handed pitcher cruised through the first inning, striking out the side on 13 pitches — all fastballs. He added a pair of strikeouts in the second and one more in the third to strike out six of the first nine batters he faced. 

“I just overall think the two-seam command [was working],” Ross said. “Just staying aggressive and trying to work quick.”

Ross added that he was amped up for Sunday’s game, leading to the quicker velocity in his fastball. 

Starlin Castro drove in Josh Harrison from second with an RBI single to right, breaking the scoreless tie in the third inning.

Castro’s single continued his hot hitting, giving him his 10th hit in his previous 19 appearances at the plate with seven RBIs. 

“He’s been hitting the way I thought he’d hit all along,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “He’s a guy when the season’s over, he’s going to have 170-200 hits. He’s done it a lot in his career and he’s just getting going.”

Ross’ first mistake came in the fourth, giving up a solo shot to Matt Beatty to left center field to level the score. It was just the third hit he had surrendered at that point.

Later in the inning, Ross escaped a bases-loaded jam, striking out former Nationals outfielder Steven Souza Jr. looking with a high 95-mph fastball. 

Ross settled down, sending the Dodgers down in order in the fifth and sixth innings. 

The Nationals struggled to get the offense going after the third inning. Washington went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven base runners.

“Guys are just playing hard,” Martinez said. “We just couldn’t string a bunch of hits together and get that one big hit we needed. We just got to forget about this now and move forward to San Diego and go 1-0 tomorrow.”

Pinch hitter Albert Pujols broke the tie in the seventh, singling down the left field line to drive in Gavin Lux from second and put the Dodgers up, 2-1. 

Max Muncy’s double off the wall in center field past the outstretched glove of Gerardo Parra drove in two more runs in the eighth. 

Washington was without several players on Sunday, including Kyle Schwarber, who’s on the 10-day injured list with a hamstring injury. Trea Turner was in uniform on the bench, but Martinez said he expects the shortstop back from his jammed finger injury next week. 

“They want to play well, they want to pick up the guys that aren’t able to play right now,” Martinez said. “I know they’re going to come out tomorrow and play hard again.”

Alcides Escobar made his second-straight start for the Nationals at shortstop, after they acquired him from the Kansas City Royals on Saturday. He made his presence felt against the Dodgers in the series finale, going 3-for-4 with a double. 

“He’s a very smart player and I’ve known him for a lot of years and I’ve watched him play,” Martinez said. “He comes to play hard every day, gives you everything he has and that’s one thing I’ve known about him and that’s one thing I appreciate about him.”

Washington travels to San Diego to play the Padres in a four-game series starting Monday, kicking off a four game series. The Nationals then travel to San Francisco to play the Giants for three games.

“We’re going to keep battling, it’s unfortunate that we have so many injuries, but in this game we’re going to keep battling,” Martinez said. “We’ve got to find a way, we’ve got to kind of will it some days.”

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