WASHINGTON -- The Nationals made a surprising roster move in the aftermath of Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the Braves when they announced Monday morning that starter Erick Fedde had been optioned to Triple-A Fresno.

Fedde had taken over as the club’s fifth starter after Jeremy Hellickson landed on the injured list last month, but he has struggled to pitch deep into games recently. In his last four starts, Fedde has posted a 5.49 ERA with 10 strikeouts and 11 walks. And after Austin Voth’s performance during his spot start in Sunday’s series finale, the Nats were comfortable optioning Fedde to the Minors.

Voth struck out a career-high seven batters and held the Braves to four hits in six innings, yielding a pair of home runs to Ronald Acuña Jr. and Josh Donaldson.

“I really liked what I saw. I really did,” manager Dave Martinez said. “Everything was good. We'll see where he fits in, but I was very impressed. Especially in the sixth inning, still throwing 94 miles an hour. And [he] looked very poised. It was awesome.”

On Sunday, Voth’s fastball averaged 93.9 mph, an increase from the 91.3 mph average velocity he averaged during his stint in the Majors in 2018, when he made four appearances and two starts. That spike was consistent with the reports the Nats received on him in the Minors, but Voth also credited the nine days off in between starts as a reason his arm felt so lively.

“I felt great. I had nine days off since my last start, so my arm was fresh,” he said Sunday. “I got a little tired in the 5th and 6th, but thought I did a pretty good job of keeping them off balance, definitely with my fastball, locating it up and down, changing eye level.”

Fedde is unlikely to be the only change the Nationals make to their roster before beginning a three-game series in Miami on Tuesday. They now have an open slot on their 25- and 40-man roster, giving them flexibility to add an extra bat on the bench, or perhaps another arm in the bullpen. Kyle McGowin was also brought up on Sunday to provide insurance as a long reliever, and it's possible a more traditional reliever would be able to aide their bullpen in the next week.