Washington Nationals swept by Atlanta, 8-2 final tonight; Braves win 14th straight…

Atlanta’s on a roll. And they are hitting home runs like it’s going out of style…

Fedde vs the Braves:

Erick Fedde earned his fourth curly-W of the season (4-4) with 5 ²⁄₃ innings of work on the mound in an 11-5 win over the Brewers last Friday night in Nationals Park, in which the 29-year-old starter allowed four hits, three walks, and three runs.

“Fedde, once again kept us in the game, and I thought at the end there he got a little tired, he’s up to 90-something pitches,” Martinez said after Fedde’s 98-pitch outing.

Fedde finished the game with a 4.87 ERA, a 4.56 FIP, 28 walks, 47 Ks, and a .270/.348/.410 line against in 12 starts and 57 ¹⁄₃ IP on the season.

Taking on Atlanta for the first time in 2022, Fedde worked around a one-out single, in a 17-pitch first, but Marcell Ozuna lined a 1-0 cutter to left for a leadoff double in the first at-bat of the second, took third on a fly to center field by William Contreras, and scored on a two-out grounder to third base Maikel Franco got a glove on but could not collect (and likely wouldn’t have had a play on even if he had), 1-0 Braves.

Fedde retired the side in order in the third, after which he was up to 58 pitches, but a one-out single and walk and two-out free pass loaded the bases with Braves in the fourth, and Michael Harris II hit a two-run single to left to make it a 3-0 lead for the visitors.

Fedde was still on the mound in the sixth, at 98 pitches overall, with the score 3-1 at that point, and he picked up another strikeout, but a one-out walk ended his outing…

Erick Fedde’s Line: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 Ks, 111 P, 64 S, 5/5 GO/FO.

I Know You Strider:

Following 11 appearances out of the bullpen for Atlanta in which he put up a 2.22 ERA, a 1.46 FIP, 11 walks, 37 Ks, and a .167/.263/.214 line against in 24 ¹⁄₃ IP, Spencer Strider moved to the Braves’ rotation on May 30th, and in three starts before tonight’s outing in Washington, D.C., the 23-year-old, 2020 4th Round pick had a 2.57 ERA, 2.93 FIP, eight walks, 20 Ks, and a real stingy .192/.300/.269 line against in 14 IP.

“He took that next step toward where we want him to be,” Braves’ manager Brian Snitker told reporters, as quoted on MLB.com, after he tossed 5 ²⁄₃ scoreless the last time out in Atlanta’s Truist Park.

Tonight in Nationals Park, the hard-throwing right-hander (who averages 98.3 MPH with his fastball, which he throws 71.2% of the time) averaged 99.4 MPH with the nine fastballs he threw in a 12-pitch, 1-2-3 1st in which he struck out two of the three batters he faced.

Strider struck out all three batters in a 1-2-3 second, for 5 of 6 set down via K in two quick, scoreless frames (in which he threw 71% fastballs and averaged 99.2 MPH overall).

A two-out error and free pass put two runners on in the Nats’ third, but Strider stranded both in a 23-pitch frame, then came back out in the fourth, and picked up two more Ks, making it eight total from 14 batters faced, and he was up to 69 total with no hits for the home team through the first four innings.

Strider got two more outs in the fifth, before Luis García got hold of a 98 MPH 3-1 fastball he hit 420 feet to right field for a solo shot and the Nationals’ first hit of the game, 3-1 Braves.

Strider gave up a leadoff walk by Lane Thomas in the sixth, but retired two batters before the Braves went to the pen with the starter up to 106 pitches and 11 Ks overall…

Spencer Strider’s Line: 5.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 Ks, 1 HR, 106 P, 71 S, 4/0 GO/FO.

Bullpen Action:

Steve Cishek came on for the Nationals with a runner on and one out in the sixth, and he gave up a single by Orlando Arcia on a grounder up the middle, before he struck Michael Harris II out and popped Ronald Acuña, Jr. up for out No. 3.

Veteran reliever Jesse Chavez took over for the Braves with a runner (Lane Thomas) on first and two outs in the Nats’ sixth, and he walked Josh Bell before giving up a 2-out RBI hit off Keibert Ruiz’s bat, 3-2, before he got out of the inning.

Cishek walked Dansby Swanson to start the seventh, then surrendered a 441-foot, two-run home run to left-center off Austin Riley’s bat, as the Braves’ third baseman’s 17th of ‘22 put the visitors up 5-2. Carl Edwards, Jr. took over with a runner on and two out and struck out Adam Duvall to end the top of the inning.

Victor Robles singled off Chavez with two down in the Nats’ seventh, but overran second base on a grounder to Orlando Arcia in the next at-bat, and was thrown out as Arcia had trouble fielding it cleanly, then turned around and tossed it second for out No. 3 on a real TOOTBLAN-y play by the Nationals’ outfielder.

Arcia stepped to the plate in the top of the eighth, and homered to put the Braves up 6-2.

Austin Riley’s second of the game went out to left and the two-run blast off Edwards, Jr. made it an 8-2 game in the Braves’ favor.

Nationals now 23-42