Does Joe Ross need to employ the changeup with more frequency?

Right-hander Joe Ross continued to pitch to his strengths as the Nationals dropped the Padres 7-5 Friday night at Petco Park.

Ross completed six innings, and allowed three runs on six hits, with two walks and six strikeouts. Between the end of the second and the beginning of the fourth inning, he set down eight straight batters. He finished with 95 pitches, 68 for strikes.

He is now 6-4 this season with a 3.13 ERA.

As with most starters, hitters do a better job of trying to figure out Ross the second or third time through the order. During the first time they hit just .178, but the second time it jumps to .262 and then third time they see him, batters hit at a .282 clip. The strikeout to walk ratio drops from 4.57 to 3.13 to 1.10 as hitters see Ross the second and third time in the game.

The 23-year-old Ross has a lethal sinker and a top of the line slider. One pitch moves out and one pitch moves in. He used his changeup only five percent of the time Friday, but that doesn't mean it isn't very good. It is good, he has just chosen to not employ it as much.

In a sense, he's getting the velocity drop he needs between the sinker and the slider. The sinker was coming in at 92 mph while the slider was arriving at 82-83 mph. His changeup was around 88 mph.

But the changeup, or even a curveball, will be important as Ross continues to improve. It is crucial for him to build confidence and use a third pitch as his career goes on, because once teams see him three or four times during the season, they could start to narrow down his repertoire to just two pitches.

And here is another point: his changeup is good, but it really doesn't even have to be that good. He just needs to employ it with more frequency - or the breaking ball of his choice - so hitters don't start guessing right in his other stuff. Even if they guess right, which they don't do that much against him this season, it still can be a difference pitch for him as he builds innings and confidence in his young major league career.

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