MILWAUKEE -- A patchwork Nationals offense that has struggled to score eagerly welcomed third baseman Anthony Rendon back into the lineup for Tuesday night's 6-0 loss to the Brewers at Miller Park.

Rendon, who missed 14 games with a left elbow contusion, went 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch in his return and was ejected in the seventh inning. Rendon argued balls and strikes with home-plate umpire CB Bucknor and emphatically pointed the barrel of his bat where he thought the pitch was, prompting the ejection. After the game, Rendon taped to his locker a photo of two screen grabs from different angles that showed that the called third strike appeared to be outside.

“I just told him he was wrong, maybe a couple other words,” Rendon said. “I know better in that situation, not to get tossed, but he definitely got the best of me.”

Rendon was activated from the 10-day injured list Tuesday, one of several roster moves by the Nationals. Right-handed pitcher Erick Fedde was recalled from Double-A Harrisburg, while infielder was Carter Kieboom was optioned to Triple-A Fresno and left-handed pitcher Tony Sipp was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained oblique.

"He's the guy in our lineup that makes things go. It's nice to have him back," manager Dave Martinez said before Tuesday's game. "The biggest thing, it helps our defense out a lot because he's a great defender. And he's a middle of the lineup guy for us. I'm looking forward to watching him play."

In 20 games prior to his injury, Rendon was hitting .356 with 10 doubles, six homers, 18 RBIs, nine walks and 21 runs scored. Despite missing time, Rendon entered Tuesday tied for eighth in the National League with 10 doubles, while his .740 slugging percentage ranked third in the National League among hitters with at least 85 plate appearances.

Fedde, 26, has been primarily a starter in the Minors, with 67 starts in 85 appearances. He is 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA in five games (four starts) with Double-A Harrisburg this season. He has struck out 27 batters against just five walks in 24 2/3 innings pitched. Fedde made his first relief appearance of the season on May 4 vs. Trenton, tossing a scoreless inning with two strikeouts.

In his first stint with the Nationals, Fedde tossed four scoreless innings out of the bullpen on April 28 against San Diego. He allowed two hits, struck out three batters and issued one walk in Washington’s 7-6 win.

"I'm really excited to be back," Fedde said. "The last trip was pretty short for me, so hopefully this time I'll get up here and stay up here a little longer."

Kieboom, 21, hit .128 with two homers, two RBIs, four walks and four runs scored in his first Major League stint. He clubbed two home runs in his first three Major League games, April 26 and April 28, against San Diego. He also struggled defensively, committing four errors in 10 games.

"There are a lot of good players in this game that have been optioned before and come back and done really well," Martinez said of Kieboom. "I've got all the confidence in the world, this organization does. He's one of our top prospects. He goes down there, gets back to playing and [can] kind of relax a little bit. I told him, the biggest [thing] is just do the simple things and go back to fundamentals. I said, you're going to be back, and he's going to be back for a long time."

With Trea Turner still on the injured list with a broken right index finger, Wilmer Difo will get the bulk of the work at shortstop, backed by Adrian Sanchez.

Sipp, 36, is 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA in 17 appearances out of the Nationals bullpen. He faced five batters in the eighth inning in Monday's 5-3 loss to the Brewers, walking two and and allowing one hit.

"I've been dealing with it for about a week, just trying to take it easy," said Sipp, who was not signed as a free agent until mid-March. "It's just something that lingered on. If it was any other, I felt like I could probably fight through it. But they just said it seems like the perfect time to just do nothing and kind of let everything kind of settle."

Gomes, Stevenson improving
Catcher Yan Gomes and outfielder Andrew Stevenson, who each left Monday's game with injuries, are improving, Martinez said.

Gomes sustained a forearm contusion when he was hit by a pitch in the first, but caught two innings before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the third. Stevenson exited in the fourth inning with back spasms.

"They're sore. Gomes was swinging the bat today, he said he feels a lot better," Martinez said. "Stevenson's a little stiff, but he's feeling a lot better, as well. For both of them, it's going to be day to day. I think Gomes is available today if we need him. Stevenson is going to move around a little bit to see how he feels, but he's pretty stiff."