Trevor Williams lowers his ERA to 1.96:
Trevor Williams put nine batters on base and allowed five hits and four walks in a five-inning, 79-pitch, scoreless game last week in Arlington, Texas.
Williams managed to survive a scoreless start with the bases loaded and no outs in the second inning, but manager Davey Martinez claimed after the game that his right-hander was some kind of magician.
“He got out of some tough situations,” the captain said. “The lineup there is good, really.”
“He threw a really, really good pitch in a key moment to get out of the inning,” Martinez explained.
“And he fought. I always say this guy tried, fought, and did a great job today.”
“Believe it or not, I’ve been there before,” Williams told reporters. Quoted by Mark Zuckerman of MASN After resolving the jam with the bases loaded in the early going.
“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.”
The 32-year-old nine-year veteran struggled to return to the starting lineup last year after working as a swingman for several seasons, but his manager said he is pitching with the confidence he has gained this season.
“He was always confident,” Martinez said of qualifying. “He really is. And he always wants the ball. He never wants to get out of the game, so that’s a conversation I have to have with him. You know, last year he had a lot of trouble late in the game. I’m tired, but I don’t want that to happen to him this year because we need him. He’s pitching well, so I’m putting him around that 80-90 pitch mark. When he does that, he’s effective and bounces back really well.
“He’s done really, really well. And I’m proud of him. He spent the whole winter reevaluating the way he does his routine and the way he prepares, and that’s what made it work for him. We are achieving results.”
Williams’ start number seven was also a good result.to fight against baltimore orioles Last night in the nation’s capital, the right-hander struck out a season-high eight of the 18 batters he faced and allowed just two hits in five scoreless innings of 77 pitches, with 53 pitches being strikes.
Williams earned only seven swinging strikes (out of 39 swings) but 14 called strikes (nine on his fastball). He singled in the first inning, avoided an error in the second inning, retired his team in order in the third inning, struck out two, and did the same in the fourth, getting the DC O’s out for the first of two innings. I got it and finished the game. He had a strong sixth with a one-out single.
From the 2nd inning onwards, they took a 1-0 lead and held off the visitors, and from the 5th inning onwards, left-handers Robert Garcia, Derek Law, Hunter Harvey, and Kyle Finnegan pitched scoreless innings with only one hit (Harvey from). The Nationals then added two runs in the home half of the seventh inning, ultimately winning 3-0.
With tonight’s outing, Trevor Williams extended his home runless streak to 44.1 IP since September 10, 2023. @EliasSports:
1. Stephen Strasburg – 66.1 (8/15/10 – 5/4/12)
2. John Lannan – 61.1 (2011/8/31 – 2012/10/1)
T3. Stephen Strasburg – 55.2 (8/19/17…— Nationals Communications (@NationalsComms) May 8, 2024
“He’s attacking the strike zone, he’s doing everything we’ve asked him to do,” Martinez said after winning the first of two games against the O’s at Nationals Park. , he’s pitching well.”
Williams finished the night with a 1.96 ERA, 2.49 FIP, 2.95 BB/9, and 7.36 K/9, marking a big change in 2024 for a starter who led the National League with 34 home runs allowed last season. .
When asked what was different about Williams from previous players, Martinez said, “Continue holding the ball.” “Moving on. Things like that. Mixing up his pitches. Utilizing his fastball when he needs to. But the biggest thing is he’s holding the ball down for the most part.”
How Williams suppressed the Orioles’ batters was even more impressive considering that the O’s led the majors in home runs (54) and were second in SLG (.451 batting average).
“The game plan from now on was just to attack them,” Williams told reporters after the win.
“That’s a great lineup. The home run threat is there. The power threat is there. If you start pitching around these guys, they’re going to hurt you or make you pay for it.” So I think the game plan going forward was to attack them with everything we had.
“And thankfully, even though we were without a bat today, we didn’t deviate too much from that game plan.”
Over .500!!!:
There was a lot of talk from players, fans, and club writers about how the Nationals’ win over the O’s last night pushed them over .500 for the first time since 2021. When asked about his thoughts, Davie said: Martinez continued his message with… you guessed it, he got a 1-0 win over the reporter who asked the next question.
“Did you do that? I didn’t know either. I take it one game at a time, buddy. I don’t look at the records. I just worry about going 1-0, I really do. That’s fine. But. I like it.
Veteran spirit and staff:
Nick Senzel, Jesse Winker, and Eddie Rosario went 5-for-11 in the final game of the series against the capital, Toronto, as Winker and Rosario both hit home runs and the club once again came from behind to win.
After the team’s 12th come-from-behind win of the year, coach Davey Martinez spoke about the contributions of the veteran players who have been on the roster for just over the first month of the 2024 season.
“I thought those guys that we targeted over the winter were all very different, you know? Eddie’s very quiet. He goes about his business. Although Turn Signal is totally just there. , love to play the game, and Senzel is just enthusiastic, very enthusiastic and wants to help us win, but overall, they agree and what we’re trying to do. They understand, they understand our young players. They do a great job helping us in the clubhouse and engaging with our young players and helping us win on the field. They’ve helped us. It’s great to have them. I’ve always said that – all three of them – especially Winker, he’s played very well. and has really helped us. I always felt like he had a little bit more left in the tank.
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
“As everyone knows, Nick was a promising player for the Reds, and I felt the same way. If we keep him in one position, instead of moving him around “I felt that it definitely helped me come back to life.” And he did well too. The biggest thing for Nick was accepting walks and swinging at strikes, and he did a better job of that. ”
Rosario, of course, has struggled mightily since signing late this spring, but his manager hopes a big game in which the slugger hits the game-winning home run can spark something that will start to turn things around. He said he was looking forward to it.
“I hope it cheers him up,” Martinez said. “But like I said, I’ve seen this guy hit home runs like that in key moments so many times. He’s kind of hard on us. We signed him. The reason is that against right-handed pitchers, I felt he could turn the ball around and take the lead. Today was great. The swing before that, the ball he hit up the middle, that was it for me. I thought that was the key, so if he can keep doing that, the rest will come.”
The captain said he felt like he saw Rosario breathe a sigh of relief as he rounded the bases and crossed the plate, and while the 32-year-old didn’t see the ball soar, he thought he saw it all. He said he knew he had grabbed it (This is the second time this season and the first since the opening game.).
Rosario told reporters of his reaction to the explosion, “Honestly, I couldn’t see the ball.” “I knew I made great contact and I know it was a big hit and a big moment because I’ve felt like that before. I needed it to know that I am the same Rosario as I’ve always been in the past. “
Senzel went 0-for-3 with a walk in last night’s win. Winker had 2 hits for 4 at bats, while Rosario had 1 walk and 3 hits.
