Fedde's strain believed mild, Strasburg throws off mound

Erick Fedde felt nothing during his start Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia. But when the Nationals right-hander woke up Thursday morning in Miami, his left side was bothering him. The club told him to take it easy, and he didn't attempt to throw his typical bullpen session between starts. And after an MRI revealed what manager Davey Martinez called "a minor strain of his left oblique," Fedde was placed on the 10-day injured list this morning.

It's the latest blow to a Nationals rotation that has yet to be at full capacity this season, and the latest blow to Fedde, who keeps having his breakthrough campaign disrupted by unexpected calamities.

"It stinks," Martinez said in his Zoom session with reporters prior to today's series finale versus the Marlins. "He's done really well. And he comes back and pitches well and then this happens to him. But I've got to stay positive with him and tell him: 'Look, you'll overcome this, too, and you'll come back and you'll be ready to go again.' "

Fedde had been working on a scoreless streak of 20 innings - a streak that sandwiched around his four-week stint on the IL after testing positive for COVID-19 despite being vaccinated and never experiencing any symptoms - when he took the mound Wednesday against the Phillies and promptly gave up five runs in four innings.

The right-hander, though, told Nationals officials he felt fine during that start and didn't experience any discomfort on his left side until the day after that appearance.

"He had no idea how he got it," said Martinez, who added Fedde thought maybe he laid on his side funny while sleeping Wednesday night.

An MRI taken Saturday revealed the oblique strain, one Martinez described as less severe than the Grade 1 strain that sidelined reliever Wander Suero for 20 games earlier this season.

That said, the Nationals will need someone to take Fedde's spot for now in the rotation, which was due to come up Monday against the Mets in a game rescheduled after the Nats' season-opening COVID-19 outbreak. They aren't announcing a fill-in starter for that game yet, though it stands to reason Paolo Espino and/or Jefry Rodriguez would be the likeliest choices to pitch the bulk of the innings in that game if they're not needed today in relief of Max Scherzer.

With Fedde coming off the active roster, the Nationals recalled reliever Andres Machado from Triple-A Rochester. The 28-year-old right-hander, who pitched in two games for the Royals in 2017, was on the Nats' active roster for a doubleheader earlier this month but never appeared in a game before being sent back down. Machado has a 2.63 ERA in 10 appearances for the Red Wings, striking out 18 while walking only three batters.

There was some positive news on the injured pitching front today, with Stephen Strasburg throwing off a mound for the first time since he went on the IL with a neck strain June 2. Strasburg, who had previously only been throwing on flat ground during his rehab, was scheduled to throw about 25 pitches in a light bullpen session, according to Martinez.

"Not a heavy bullpen, but he's going to get back on a mound and throw," the manager said. "I'm really excited about that."

* Juan Soto was the lone member of the Nationals to advance to Phase 2 of voting for this year's All-Star Game. Soto finished sixth in Phase 1 among National League outfielders, receiving 561,982 votes. He joins fellow top-nine finishers (Ronald Acuña Jr., Nick Castellanos, Jesse Winker, Mookie Betts, Chris Taylor, Bryce Harper, Joc Pederson and Mike Yastrzemski) in advancing to the second round of voting, which begins at noon Monday and runs through 2 p.m. Thursday, with winners announced at 9 p.m. that night