Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats & White Sox split doubleheader; Erick Fedde throws seven scoreless + more…

Notes and quotes from the Nationals and White Sox’ doubleheader in Chicago…

WILLIAMS VS THE WHITE SOX:

Trevor Williams took the mound last night in Chicago, IL’s Guaranteed Rate Field on quite an impressive, four-start run, over which Washington’s 32-year-old, nine-year veteran posted a 0.86 ERA, a 2.47 FIP, and a .206/.263/.206 line against in 21 innings.

On the year, Williams was keeping the ball in the yard, (a problem last year when he gave up an NL-leading 34 home runs in 30 starts and 144 ¹⁄₃ IP), with no home runs allowed through his first 36 ¹⁄₃ this season.

The keys to his success?

“Keeping the ball down. Getting ahead. Those are the things,” manager Davey Martinez told reporters after Williams tossed five scoreless against the Orioles in the nation’s capital.

“Mixing his pitches up. Utilizing his fastball when he needs to. But the biggest thing is for the most part he’s keeping the ball down.”

Williams gave up his first home run of the season in the second, on a 1-1 fastball up in the zone, inside, to White Sox’ DH Eloy Jiménez in the home-half of the inning, and two more runs in the fifth, an ugly defensive inning for the visiting club, after which the starter was replaced, having thrown 81 pitches total, 48 for strikes, collecting just six swinging but a total of 14 called strikes on the night.

Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images

He didn’t factor into the decision, leaving the game with the score tied at 3-3 in what was a 6-3 win for the Nationals in the end, but Williams continued his streak of strong outing, and talked afterwards about what’s been working for him this season.

“It’s pitch execution,” Williams said.

“As a starting pitcher you’re trying to out-execute the other starting pitcher, and [White Sox’ starter Chris] Flexen did a tremendous job today, he was getting a lot of swing and miss and he was pounding the zone early, and it was going to be one of those games where it was going to — however blinks first is going to be in trouble, and — but for us to play like we did, and especially coming off a rainout and playing an early game like this it was huge for us to carry into Game 2.”

The first home run allowed this season too, he said, was a matter of execution.

“I’m thankful we were having the early success we were having. We talk about pitch execution, and that’s one I didn’t execute today.

Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images

“Eloy is a tremendous hitter. He’s going to hit the mistakes, and he did that today.”

Eddie Rosario (1 for 5) and Joey Meneses (4 for 4) singled to drive in runs (one for Rosario, and two for Meneses in the fifth), giving the Nationals a 3-1 lead before the White Sox tied things up in the bottom of the inning, then Keibert Ruiz and Trey Lipscomb hit RBI singles for the Nats in the eighth, before Victor Robles drove Ruiz in with a sac fly for the sixth run of the game for the visitors, 6-3 final.

FACING ERICK FEDDE:

Ahead of the deadline to tender contracts or non-tender players after the 2022 campaign, Nationals’ GM and President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo made the decision to non-tender 2014 1st Round pick Erick Fedde, then 29, who finished his sixth big league season with a 5.81 ERA, 5.15 FIP, 58 walks (4.11 BB/9), 94 strikeouts (6.66 K/9), and a .293/.362/.470 line against in 27 starts and 127 IP.

“He’s a first round pick that pitched for us for six seasons, was on our championship club,” Rizzo explained. “He was one of the 17 homegrown players on the 2019 club, so we think that he was a good big league player for us, he was a good National, and we just felt that non-tendering was the right thing to do for the organization, and something that — we wish him the best, but we think that we’re going to move forward without him.”

“When I talk to him,” manager Davey Martinez said after Fedde’s at-times tough 2023 season in D.C. “I talk to him about — he needs to create his own identity and figure out who he wants to be and what he wants to do moving forward. I know he’s got to get better. We talk about he’s got to attack the strike zone. Location is a big thing for him. Throwing the ball where he wants to. Got to develop his changeup a little bit better, but he’s got a live arm, and when he’s on he’s really good. But it’s consistency with him. He’s got to start getting consistent every five days.”

Fedde ended up signing on with the KBO’s DC Dinos, taking a $1M deal and dominating the league in his first season, winning 20 games and posting a 2.00 ERA and a 2.38 FIP, with 35 walks (1.75 BB/9), and 209 Ks (10.43 K/9) over 180 ¹⁄₃ IP.

Coming off his impressive run in the KBO, Fedde, now 31, got a 2-year/$15M deal from the Chicago White Sox, and he picked up where he left off in South Korea on Chicago’s South Side, with a 3.00 ERA, 4.27 FIP, 14 walks (2.80 BB/9), 44 Ks (8.80 K/9), and a .221/.287/.384 line against over his first eight starts and 45 IP before facing his former team last night at home in Guaranteed Rate Field.

He told reporters, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman, before the game, about some of the changes he made last season (more changeups, sweeper replacing his slider), and the righty shared his thoughts about going up against the Nats for the first time in his career.

“It’ll be strange,” Fedde acknowledged, of facing the team that drafted developed him, and gave him his first chance (and plenty of opportunities) in the majors.

“First time seeing the W on the other side of the field,” he said. “They were always good to me, treated me well. I have no hard feelings. … Of course every start I want to pitch well, but I want to go out there and show what I’ve done.”

Fedde tossed seven scoreless innings in the nightcap of the doubleheader, leading his club to a 4-0 win.

Did Martinez see anything different from Fedde this time out, versus what he saw when the right-hander was pitching for the Nationals?

“HIs misses were definitely more over the plate, you know? His split was good, his cutter was good tonight,” Martinez said.“I thought he threw the ball really well. He really did. He mixed all his pitches up. The biggest thing was his misses were around the zone.

“When you can do that, you get guys to really start swinging the bats and chasing. I thought he did a good job with that.”

Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images

Looking back on the split of the doubleheader overall, Martinez said his offense needs to be a little more disciplined on the offensive end (and defensively, an issue for the club in recent games and again in the first of two in Chicago).

“Our big thing is that when we start chasing we’re not very good. We’ve got to get the ball in the zone, see some balls up, work counts, and then we put the ball in play,” Martinez said of the offense in both games.

“Second game we couldn’t get nothing going, same thing. We’re just chasing the split.

“Fedde threw some good ones, he threw some good cutters, but we got to get him in the zone.

WWhen we do that, we’re pretty good. To come out with a split, got a chance to win a series tomorrow, that’s always good. So we’ll get some rest and try to go 1-0 tomorrow.”