Fister cites work with Lobaton, Harper's play as reasons why are Nats finally getting above .500

It might be a bit lost in all the hoopla of another walk-off home run from the sensational Bryce Harper, but right-hander Doug Fister played his part in the Nationals' 8-6 win over the Braves on Saturday.

Fister provided 6 2/3 innings to the Nationals' cause, allowing three runs on six hits, with no walks and three strikeouts. He got into a jam in the seventh after recording two quick outs, but the Braves managed only one run off of his pitching in the first six frames.

Fister said his relationship with catcher Jose Lobaton and the way they work together really helped him keep the Braves at bay for most of the game.

"Loby has this unique personality about him where he can kind of bring everybody together," Fister said. "He's a fun guy to be around. Being able to communicate with him has been easy for me. He's a great teammate. That's what we want. That's what we have around here, one of 25 guys."

Fister said his focus with Lobaton was making sure he located his fastball, and that goes back to previous starts. He made sure the tempo in his delivery of his fastball and changeup appeared to look the same to the hitter.

"The biggest thing was some timing on my delivery in general," Fister said. "Being able to stay back and really locate the fastball down. It's been a huge focus. It's been a really big battle all year long so far. Tonight we were able to get it locked in a little bit."

Fister has now not allowed a walk in the past two starts. Is that a function of better control, or are hitters just putting the ball in play for easy outs?

"It's a little bit of both, but I think guys putting balls in play is in turn caused by being around the zone and being able to command the ball a little better," Fister said. "Tonight was another quality start in the fact of being the ball down and in on the corners. I did make a lot of mistakes, and they made me pay for them. But overall we were doing our job."

But just like his pitching teammates, he can admire what a talent his team has in Harper, who has now connected on six homers in the past three games. Saturday's game-winning blast was the third career walk-off home run for Harper, and first since August 7, 2014 against the Mets. Fister felt Harper saved him Saturday.

"That guy comes through with some big hits and some wonderful catches at all times of the night," Fister said. "He's a guy who comes in and does what he needs to do. That's what we need as a team. We sure appreciate what he does.

"I kind of ran out of gas. Skip had every right coming out and getting me there. I couldn't locate a ball there in the last inning. It's just unfortunate, but the guys came in behind me and got the job done."

Fister was getting treatment in the clubhouse when Harper won the game.

"I was upstairs here finishing up treatment and getting things done," Fister said. "I can tell you that everyone who was in here, trainers and any staff that was in here, we were certainly screaming at the top of our lungs. It was quite a turnaround for us."

Last week, the Nationals recorded a possible season-turning win in Atlanta, 13-12, on a Dan Uggla homer. Saturday's win over the Braves put the Nationals over .500 for the first time this season.

What does that mean in the span of a 162-game season? It could be a significant moment. Fister remembers when this team was 7-13.

"Obviously we had a little rough start," Fister said. "But guys are playing well together. Guys are putting together good at-bats. They're chasing balls down in the outfield, diving in the infield, whatever it takes. Guys are making the plays that are needed to be made. I think that's something huge for us.

"We're only a month in. Obviously we see things day-to-day. I know a lot of guys are feeling very good and seeing the ball well. They're putting forth a lot of effort before and during games preparing and knowing what they need to do to get the job done. Yes, it's very important for us to be feeling good right now. But we just gotta know how to continue that."