Washington Nationals’ Erick Fedde hangs in there for six in extra innings loss to Miami...

Erick Fedde put up a 4.05 ERA, a 4.06 FIP, 11 walks, 17 Ks, and a .235/.306/.316 line against in five starts and 26 ²⁄₃ innings pitched in the month of June, capping things off with a five-inning, 100-pitch outing in which he gave up three hits, two walks, and two earned runs in Washington’s 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates in Nationals Park.

“Walking off the field, I felt terrible,” Fedde said after the outing against the Bucs, as quoted by MASN’s Bobby Blanco.

“My stuff wasn’t great today, especially weirdly after the first inning, because I felt so good after that first inning. But just didn’t have my best stuff today, but lucky enough to keep the team in it and they made it pay off.”

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Before the game, Fedde’s manager, Davey Martinez, said the key for the 29-year-old righty in his good outings is always, “attacking the strike zone.”

“The one thing I want to see today is put-away pitches, right? He gets 0-2 a lot on hitters, I don’t want him to be out there going to counts 2-2, 3-2, I want him in 3-4 pitches or less, try to get hitters out. If he can do that, I really feel like he can go deep into the game as well, so just attack the hitters, understand what the plan is, and execute the plan in three pitches or less.”

After the game?

“He struggled to find the strike zone,” Martinez said.

“He was behind a lot, fell behind a lot. I mean, look, he battled really hard to get through what he did. He had a lot, you know, 100 pitches in five innings. I give him credit for that. Like I said before, I think that’s part of maturity that some days are better than others, but he’s able to go out there and compete when his stuff isn’t very good. He did that today. And he kept us in the game and he kept us close.”

Fedde threw 106 pitches in six innings against the Miami Marlins on Sunday, giving up three hits, three walks, and two earned runs. He generated 11 swinging strikes (six with his sinker, which he threw 55% of the time), and 20 called strikes (spread out among his sinker (9), his curve (7), and cutter (4)).

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Martinez reiterated before the start what he’s said about Fedde all season.

He needs to put hitters away when he gets to two strikes, and not waste pitches and allow them back in the count as his own pitch count goes up.

“He throws pitches before he gets to 0-2, and he makes pitches, he doesn’t have to throw the turbo — and I think that’s him,” Martinez explained. “He’s looking to throw a wipeout pitch. Well, your pitches are — if you can get to 0-2, your pitches are wipeout pitches.

“Just want to keep the ball out of the middle of the zone when you have two strikes, but you don’t have to throw the turbo curveball or the turbo cutter, just make a pitch.”

His assessment of the 2014 1st Round pick’s outing against the Fish?

“I thought Fedde, other than the walks, he hung in there and gave us six really good innings,” Martinez said.