Fedde seizing opportunity to stay in Nats rotation

SAN DIEGO - It's not easy to look for silver linings after gut-punch losses such as the one the Nationals suffered Friday night. But in the bigger picture, it's hard not to be encouraged by Erick Fedde right now.

Long touted as a long-term part of the Nationals' rotation, the 26-year-old finally is living up to the billing. He has now made four big league starts this season, and he sports a 2.70 ERA in those starts, having yet to surrender more than three runs in any outing.

And for the first time in 2019, Fedde completed six innings, ultimately taking no decision in an eventual 5-4 loss to the Padres.

"I think I'm progressing," he said. "I think it was big to get to six innings today. Obviously, I want it to be better than it was today. But in the big picture, I guess it's definitely the right step."

Perhaps the most encouraging sign for Fedde, beyond the low number of runs he's giving up, is the low pitch counts he's maintaining. Throughout his first few seasons in the big leagues, he had a penchant for laboring early, letting innings get out of control and reaching triple digits in his pitch count before he ever had a chance to get to the latter innings.

In 14 big league starts prior to this season, Fedde averaged 18.9 pitches per inning. In four starts so far this season, he's reduced that number to 15.9 pitches per frame.

"He's finding out that he can battle, man," catcher Yan Gomes said. "Sometimes if a pitch is not working, he battled. He was really efficient, got us through six innings with a really good chance to win. That's always really good to see from him."

Fedde perhaps was helped some Friday night by a Padres lineup that came out ultra-aggressive against him and swung at (and often put in play) the first pitch of an at-bat. He threw a total of only 17 pitches to the first seven batters of the game. By the time he completed the fifth inning, he had thrown only 60 pitches.

"I think it plays into my style, sinking the ball," he said of the Padres' aggressive game plan. "I was able to throw breaking pitches early in the count. They definitely came out swinging."

Fedde did make one costly mistake: a 3-2 slider to Fernando Tatis Jr. in the bottom of the sixth that was launched over the center field fence for a two-run homer.

But that was a lone mistake on a night that didn't include any others. And it was the latest example of Fedde's progress and another sign he's ready to seize this opportunity at last and secure his long-term place in the Nationals rotation.

"If we can get that out of Fedde, we're going to be in good shape," manager Davey Martinez said. "Every time he goes out there, he's getting more and more confident. He's making pitches. He pitched really well."