Fedde, Nationals shut out O’s
Washington wins second game in a row after eight-game losing streak
BALTIMORE — Erick Fedde allowed two hits over six innings as the Washington Nationals beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 Tuesday night for their second straight victory following an eight-game skid.
César Hernández doubled on the game’s first pitch from Jordan Lyles (4-6) and scored on a double by Nelson Cruz to put Washington in front. Hernández added an RBI grounder in the second inning.
That was enough of a cushion for Fedde (5-5), who struck out four, walked one and did not allow a runner past first base. Two of Fedde’s 20 career wins have come against the Orioles, against whom he has an 0.52 earned-run average in three career appearances.
Fedde lamented using 97 pitches to get through six innings, but he had no complaints about the result.
“It’s awesome,” Fedde said. “Anytime you take six scoreless, I’ll sign up for that.”
Manager Dave Martinez liked it, too. “He did well. He got ahead of a lot of hitters, and when he needed to throw a strike, he threw a strike,” Martinez said.
Kyle Finnegan worked the seventh, striking out the side around a double by Adley Rutschman. Carl Edwards Jr. pitched the eighth, and Tanner Rainey completed the four-hitter for his eighth save.
“Our bullpen came in and did a great job,” Martinez said. “It’s pretty impressive that after everything we’ve been through, we come out here and our pitchers throw a shutout.”
Washington’s eight-game losing streak, which included seven defeats at home against division foes Atlanta and Philadelphia, ended with a 9-3 rout of the Phillies on Sunday. Now the Nationals are riding their first winning streak since June 10-11.
Lane Thomas smacked a solo home run for Washington in the ninth.
After being scratched Sunday with a stomach virus, Lyles struggled through the first two innings before settling in. The right-hander gave up two runs and five hits over 6 ⅓ innings, but
he received no support from the Baltimore offense.
“I thought Fedde threw the ball extremely well. He really pitched to the edges well,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “We helped him out by chasing. We just didn’t square many balls up. I think our at-bats for the most part these past few weeks have been really good, (but) tonight we just didn’t have a lot of hard contact.”
The teams wrapped up the series Wednesday night in a game that was underway at press time, with struggling Washington lefthander Patrick Corbin (3-9, 6.59 ERA) seeking his first career win at Camden Yards. The Orioles threw right-hander Tyler Wells (4-4, 3.62), who came in with a streak of 12 starts allowing three earned runs or fewer.