WASHINGTON -- If Anthony Rendon had his way, the Washington Nationals would have a one-man starting rotation.

On Tuesday night in D.C., Rendon and the Nats backed up starter Joe Ross by scoring eight times in the fourth inning on their way to a 10-1 bludgeoning of the Seattle Mariners. In the big frame, Rendon doubled and hit a three-run homer, his second jack of the night. After having zero multi-homer games in his first 493 career starts, Washington's third baseman now has two in his past 19 starts. Both of those explosions have come with Ross on the mound.

"If he could pitch every time, that'd be awesome," said a smiling Rendon, who went 6-for-6 with three homers and 10 RBIs in Ross' previous big-league start on April 30, when the Nationals slapped a 23-5 beatdown on the Mets.

The following day, Ross -- a former first-rounder who has struggled to stay consistent and healthy since he burst on the scene in 2015 -- was sent down to Triple-A Syracuse, where he spent the past three-and-a-half weeks working out some kinks. Rendon welcomed him back on Tuesday with open arms -- and a big bat.

Halfway through the game, Rendon was on pace to repeat his historic performance from the previous month. By the time the fateful fourth was in the books, he was 3-for-3 with a pair of homers and five RBIs and was halfway to another 6-for-6, 10 RBI night. Although that obviously didn't happen (he popped out in his only other at-bat), Rendon's final line was impressive, which is hardly surprising given who was on the mound. In Ross' past two starts, Rendon is a ridiculous 9-for-10 with five bombs and 15 RBIs.

Rendon isn't the only one who has been raking with Ross on the hill. In the four games Ross has started this year, the Nationals have tallied double-digits every time, putting up 14 against Atlanta, 15 against Colorado, 23 against New York and 10 against Seattle. Add it all up, and Washington has a scored a total of 62 runs in Ross' four outings. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that's the most runs a team has ever scored in a pitcher's first four starts of a season, eclipsing the old mark of 58, most "recently" accomplished in 1895 by the Boston Beaneaters (seriously) in support of hurler Jim Sullivan.

"It's great," Ross said of his team's offensive outpouring. "It's really nothing more you can ask for as a starter than we score 10 runs before the fifth. Kind of takes a good amount of pressure off my shoulders to try and be so perfect out there, and like I said, just throw strikes and let them work behind me. If they score 10 every game, I'll feel great."

For what it's worth, the 10 runs Washington scored were way more than Ross needed. The 24-year-old righty went eight innings, tying a career high. Through the first five innings, he allowed just two singles and faced the minimum 15 batters, thanks to a pair of double plays. On the night, he struck out six and didn't walk a batter. For a Washington club that has been sorely lacking at the back end of the rotation (and overused in the bullpen), Ross' outing was arguably bigger news than anything that happened on the offensive side.

"It was very important," said Dusty Baker, whose Nats have a seven-game lead in the NL East, the largest cushion in the majors. "He was determined. He didn't want to come out when he did, actually. But that was enough. That's the guy that we know. Hopefully he'll use that as a springboard and continue to pitch well."