Washington Nationals news & notes: Trevor Williams is a magician; Nats hold on for 1-0 win over Rangers…

magician:

Trevor Williams had his team out of order in the top of the first inning last night, but he was able to connect with a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning on two of three innings. texas rangers In Arlington, Texas, the starting pitcher hit three consecutive singles while the home team had the bases loaded with no outs.

Williams tried to get out of his early predicament by hitting a weak grounder to third and home, followed by a foul-tipped strike three and a grounder to shortstop.

Washington’s starting pitcher was doubled, the Rangers had a two-out walk in the third inning, a leadoff walk in the fourth, and the Nationals’ recently converted 32-year-old right-hander allowed back-to-back singles in the fifth. , and with the bases loaded and a walk, another K, a pop to short center, CJ Abrams caught the third out, before getting another out at home.

Williams was then able to throw as many as 79 pitches in some high-leverage situations, but manager Davey Martinez, as he always does with Williams, decided that was enough.

Derek Law, Dylan Floro, Hunter Harvey, and Kyle Finnegan followed, holding Rangers batters to one hit and two walks over the next four innings, ultimately leading to a 1-0 victory.

“I can’t say enough about what… [Williams] After five innings there, the bullpen came in and threw the ball really well,” Martinez said after tying the team’s three-game set at Texas.

“As I often say, we are trying to score one more point than the other players. And today, that happened.”

How did he evaluate Williams’ appearance? And what was his effort to get out of the predicament of bases loaded and no outs?

“A magician?” he joked.

“He got out of some tough situations,” Martinez said. “The lineup over there looks good, it really does. So he made some really good pitches in key moments. It was amazing. In that particular moment, he had some high-leverage situations throughout the game. With the experience we had, we thought our bullpen could handle the rest.”

“Believe it or not, I’ve been there before,” Williams told reporters. Quoted by Mark Zuckerman of MASNavoid multiple jams:

“I’ve pitched with no outs and the bases loaded before. You just take it one pitch at a time. …As a pitcher, you just believe you have an advantage no matter what. I’m trying to execute the pitch, but I’m trying to take advantage of the hitter doing a little bit too much.”

“It’s about trusting Riley and trusting him to do his homework,” Williams said of how to get out of such a situation. The way we did it today, we were able to shut them out in the second inning, and we were able to complete the pitch in the fifth inning. But in those situations, trust your catcher, trust your preparation, and the players that trust you are going to make plays behind you.

“Because the players behind us always want the ball.

“What you can’t defend is a walk. Especially when you have no outs and the bases are loaded, there’s nowhere to put it. But the guys behind me want to make that play, and the guys behind me, too. It forces you to play that way.”

“I really think his pitching combination, I think him and Riley.” [Adams] We work really well together,” Martinez said when asked how Williams got out of the jam.

“Really. He threw some really, really good pitches in key moments to get out of the inning. And he fought. I always say this guy tried, fought, and did a great job today. There is.”

Another note about Williams:

Trevor Williams allowed a NL-leading 34 home runs in 2023, but started just six games this season (Yes, this is super jinshi), the veteran pitcher has not allowed a single home run.

So what changed for Williams earlier this year?

“The ability to change speed and hold the ball down,” coach Davey Martinez said after Williams started No. 6 in 2024.

“He’s been doing that all year. We talked about last year: He threw the ball up a lot. That’s where the home runs came from. This year, he’s really held the ball down and gotten the ball he needed. He throws up effectively at times, but he really mixes up his pitches and keeps everything down.”

Eddie in April:

Eddie Rosario was hitless in three games at bat on Tuesday, so he went 6-for-68 (.088/.137/.162) in 22 games and 73 at-bats this season, with two doubles and a home run. Recorded a book.

After the game, in the series opener in Arlington, Texas, Davey Martinez was asked about the 32-year-old veteran’s struggles over the first month or so of the season, and said it was too early to think about benching Rosario. Ta.

“He was hitting the ball — except today — and like I said, nobody was hitting the ball really hard today — he was hitting the ball hard, really hard. ” Martinez said.

Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Rosario’s early HardHit% of 38.5% is actually a slight increase from his career average (33.9%), but his 3.8% Barrel% is up from 9.5% in 2023 and a career average of 7.2%. Although down, he’s hitting in the sweet spot (13.5% (sweet spot %) lower than he was in 2023 (35.9%) and lower than his entire career (32.6%).

“He will get out of this situation,” Martinez told reporters.

“I’ve seen him do this before. If you look at his numbers in April, they’re not very good, but starting tomorrow we start May, so if tomorrow he comes out of this situation and we I hope I can hit like I know.”

Rosario posted a career .205/.248/.369 line from March to April, including the start of 2024, and a .230/.269/.419 line in just over the first month of 2023. Recorded.

May career line is .287/.313/.458, June career line is .299/.347/.539, July career line is .271/.304/.431, July career line is .272/ His career line in August is .308/.465 and in September his line is .262/.298/.473.

While waiting for things to heat up at the plate, Rosario, who signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the club in early March, is serving as a mentor to some of the young Nationals and is looking into ways to contribute. I’m looking for. Even if he doesn’t produce results at bat.

Coach Martinez said Tuesday that Rosario had a noticeable impact on Luis Garcia Jr. early this season.

What is Rosario doing to help the 23-year-old infielder?

“He keeps him involved and gets him ready – even on days when they don’t play because they have left-handed players. [pitcher], he makes sure Lewis is in the cage and ready. He’s helping him a lot because there are situations where he might use both.

“How to play the game, what to look for, what to look for pitching-wise, who’s in the bullpen, when he might hit. He talks to him a lot about all that stuff. ”