ATLANTA -- Joe Ross has been scratched from his start Saturday night against the Braves after he felt discomfort in his right forearm during a bullpen session this week.

Nats manager Dave Martinez called the injury a forearm strain prior to Friday’s game, and because of Ross’ history of arm trouble, which includes Tommy John surgery in 2017, the team did not want to push him. Austin Voth will start in his place at 7:20 p.m. ET, live on MLB.TV.

“[Ross] threw the bullpen the other day, he came back and he said he was a little sore,” Martinez said. “I just told him, ‘Hey, look, we’re not going to push it. We’ll treat it, get you right and see what happens.’”

Lately, Ross has somewhat steadied what had been an up-and-down 2019 season, in which he has bounced between the bullpen and rotation in both Washington and Triple-A Fresno. He got a chance to stick in the rotation at the beginning of August after injuries to Voth and Max Scherzer, and he filled in nicely, posting a 3.07 ERA in six starts.

Martinez was not sure whether Ross would be ready to make his next turn through the rotation, but the Nationals have plenty of options to fill in, including Erick Fedde and Jeremy Hellickson. This time, though, they settled on Voth. This will be Voth’s first big league start since July 16 -- although he tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief Monday. Voth spent time on the injured list in July and August with right biceps and shoulder tendinitis.

Voth made three Minor League rehab starts after returning from the injury, throwing a combined 7 1/3 innings and giving up six runs in his most recent start on Aug. 29. He never exceeded the 62-pitch mark, however, and the Nats expect to limit him to around 75-80 pitches Saturday with Fedde ready to back him up.

Elias optimistic, frustrated about latest hamstring injury
Roenis Elias felt much more encouraged with how his right hamstring felt Friday morning compared to the hamstring strain that put him on the injured list for nearly four weeks in August. He rode an exercise bike for about 20 minutes prior to Friday’s game and was able to walk around without a limp, one day after his hamstring tightened up in the eighth inning of Thursday’s 4-2 loss.

Once the swelling around his hamstring goes down, Elias is expected to undergo an MRI, which the Nationals hope will come in the next few days.

“I definitely feel more optimistic about the results,” Elias said through an interpreter. “As you saw last night, I walked off the field fine. The first time I injured it I almost had to be helped off the field with a limp with how bad it hurt.

“But more than anything, I’m just frustrated. I’m trying to help the team any way I can to help us win, and we keep getting these little nagging injuries.”

Worth nothing
• Adrian Sanchez has a stomach virus, and he was sent back to the team hotel from the ballpark to recover on Friday.