Trevor Williams managed to get out of two tough situations where the bases were loaded with no outs, pitching five innings without letting the other team score. Four relief pitchers then completed the shutout for the Washington Nationals, and Alex Call hit a single to bring in the only run of the game as the Nationals beat the Texas Rangers 1-0 on Wednesday night.
Washington, with a record of 15 wins and 15 losses, achieved its third shutout of the season, all since April 17th. The team now has the opportunity to have more wins than losses for the first time since July 1, 2021.
In the second inning, Texas had three consecutive singles against Williams, but he managed to get three outs with only eight pitches. Then, in the fifth inning, Texas loaded the bases again with two singles and a walk.
However, Williams got the first out by forcing a runner out at home plate. He then struck out Adolis García, who had a batting average of .423 with runners in scoring position and retired Evan Carter with a popup to shallow center.
Reflecting on his performance, Williams said, “Believe it or not, I’ve been there before. Your thought process is one pitch at a time. You just trust that as a pitcher no matter what, you have the advantage.”
In the second inning, Alex Call hit a sharp single to left field against Andrew Heaney to bring in Ildemaro Vargas, who had hit a double off the left-center wall earlier in the inning. Call was called up from Triple-A Rochester on Saturday when Joey Gallo was placed on the 10-day injured list.
After Trevor Williams, Derek Law, Dylan Floro, and Hunter Harvey pitched, Kyle Finnegan came in for the ninth inning. He struck out all three batters he faced, earning his 10th save in 11 chances.
The game ended with Corey Seager swinging and missing, his bat flying towards the Texas dugout. Seager, who was the World Series MVP last year, didn’t have a good night, going 0 for 4. He’s been struggling lately, with only 3 hits in his last 37 at-bats, bringing his batting average down to .227.
The Nationals left one player on base, and the only extra-base hit of the game was Ildemaro Vargas’ double. This was the second time this season that the defending World Series champions lost 1-0. The other time was against Oakland on April 11, also at home.
Adolis García also struck out with runners in scoring position to end the seventh inning. The Rangers had nine opportunities with runners in scoring position, but only capitalized once, leaving 11 players on base.
“We just couldn’t get the hit, and we couldn’t get a productive out there,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “You’re not going to see that very often when you create that many opportunities.”
This is the first time since 2018 that Trevor Williams has started the season 3-0. That year, he ended with a career-high 14 wins for Pittsburgh. He struck out three batters and walked four in this game.
