Fedde impresses, bullpen labors, Kieboom errs again

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Circumstances may have left Erick Fedde in a tough spot to force his way onto the Nationals' opening day pitching staff, but the right-hander is nonetheless going to do whatever he can to make a positive impression as long as he remains in the running this spring.

Outings like the one he authored today can only help.

Fedde was sharp through three innings against a Tigers lineup featuring plenty of regulars before fading as his pitch count got too high in the fourth, earning praise from Davey Martinez after the 7-5 loss.

"I liked what I saw," the manager said. "He got a little gassed there at the end. He started losing his legs a little bit. But I liked it. The ball was coming out good. He did well. He really pitched well the first three innings."

Fedde was sharp during those first three frames, allowing two hits (one an infield single) while striking out a pair and maintaining a fastball in the 93-95 mph range. He also induced five outs on groundballs, a particularly encouraging sign from his standpoint.

"I think when I'm at my best, I'm really working off my fastball," he said. "I live and die by the ground ball. So when I see that, I know my stuff's doing good and I can just build off that."

Fedde went 2 2/3 innings his last time out nine days ago, so it wasn't surprising when he opened the top of the fourth today and issued back-to-back walks, showing signs of fatigue. After throwing 28 of 47 pitches for strikes in his first three innings, he threw only four of 14 pitches for strikes in the fourth.

He did manage to strike out Jonathan Schoop on a 93 mph fastball to end his afternoon.

"Good for him," Martinez said. "He fought through it, got another out, which was nice."

"At the beginning, I felt really strong, and I think I'm still getting my legs underneath me," Fedde said. "At the end there, I felt like I fell off a little. But I'm pretty happy with where I was at."

With two weeks remaining before the club heads north, Fedde faces long odds to crack the opening day roster without something going wrong for someone else. Joe Ross appears to have the leg up for the No. 5 starter's job, and Austin Voth (who is out of options) seems destined to open the season in the bullpen. That probably leaves Fedde starting at either Triple-A Fresno or Double-A Harrisburg and waiting for his services to be needed.

Fedde didn't surrender any runs today, but the Nationals bullpen sure did. Three relievers (Roenis Elías, Ryne Harper and Sam Freeman) combined to allow seven runs (six earned), though Tanner Rainey and Hunter Strickland each tossed a scoreless innings, with Strickland striking out three.

One issue: Both Elias and Harper gave up their runs in their second inning of work. Martinez has been trying to get all his relievers to experience a couple of multi-inning appearances this spring, recognizing the need to build up their arms more to account for Major League Baseball's new three-batter minimum rule.

"That second time, they're kind of pushing themselves a little right now," Martinez said. "But as those guys start to get back in shape, they'll be ready to go."

Freeman was charged with a blown save after turning a 5-4 lead into a 7-5 deficit in the top of the ninth, but the inning was extended by Carter Kieboom's third throwing error of the spring. With two outs and a runner on first, Kieboom reached down to field Daniel Pinero's grounder to third, then threw wildly to first base to allow a tack-on run to score.

Martinez was concerned not only with the rookie's mechanics but also his decision-making on the play, electing to throw to first instead of a possible force out at second.

"He had a choice to actually go to second base, and that's something (bench coach Tim Bogar) is going to talk to him about," Martinez said. "But for me, he just came straight up. He fielded the ball, and he came up. You've got to stay down and use your legs to throw across the diamond. These are the little things he's got to keep working on. Him and Bogey and (third base coach Chip Hale) work daily. When the game speeds up, you just react to what you do. We've just got to get him to start using his legs."

Kieboom did have a nice day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double off the left field wall for his first RBI of the spring.