WASHINGTON — At the start of the season, the top four starting pitchers for the Washington Nationals were clear: Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Tanner Roark and Gio Gonzalez.
Scherzer and Strasburg were selected to the National League All-Star team on Sunday, and Gonzalez is having one of his best seasons in years.
However, with the struggles of Roark, who has a 5.27 ERA after winning 16 games last year, Joe Ross could be an important figure in the coming weeks for the first-place Nationals.
Ross (4-3, 5.12 ERA), who began the year at Triple-A Syracuse, will take the mound on Tuesday against the New York Mets.