Robert Stock allowed three hits and one unearned run with three walks and five strikeouts across 4 1/3 innings in a no-decision against the Nationals on Friday.

This was an encouraging outing for Stock after a rough previous start. The only run he gave up came after Francisco Lindor whiffed on a ground ball and he dug deep to escape a few other jams. Clearly not built up, his velocity fell sharply after he reached about 50 pitches, but that’s not a shock given his lack of starting experience in the big leagues. The Nationals also didn’t chase as many pitches out of the zone after their first time around the lineup. Still, he forced multiple whiffs with three of his four pitches and threw a few nasty cutters and changeups to left-handed batters. Stock has good enough stuff and misses and misses enough bats where you can squint and possibly see someone who can be a factor in (very) deep leagues should his stamina improve. He’s scheduled to face the Padres at home next time out.