Veteran Nationals Pitcher Joins Elite Company in Achieving This Shocking Feat

The Washington Nationals' starting rotation has been scrutinized and criticized heading into the 2025 season.

With a loaded young core of talented position players, the team is seen as positioned well for the future but expected to be held back this year by a rotation that doesn't have the same on-paper strength as its lineup.

Through the first five games of the season, the Nationals are 1-4, but it's had nothing at all to do with the quality of the rotation and everything to do with the failings of the bullpen.

MacKenzie Gore and Mitchell Parker delivered outstanding starts in the first turn through, and Jake Irvin was solid in his first go against a tough Philadelphia Phillies lineup.

In Tuesday night's loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, veteran Trevor Williams was solid, holding a strong offense to three earned runs through five innings of work.

While not spectacular, he gave the team a chance to win, as the game was tied 3-3 heading into the late innings before another bullpen hiccup resulted in a loss.

In doing so, Williams put himself on the precipice of franchise history. The start was his 16th in a row without allowing more than three earned runs. If he does it again in his next outing, he'll match future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer for the longest such streak in team history.

Williams' streak dates back to the 2023 campaign, as he made 13 starts of 2.03 ERA ball in an injury-abbreviated 2024.

The accomplishment is remarkable on its own, but even moreso in the context of Williams' career as a whole.

From 2017 to 2021, Williams was a full-time starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs. The New York Mets gave him a chance as a reliever and occasional spot-starter in 2021 and 2022, largely because of how ineffective he'd become as a rotation mainstay.

In 2019 with the Pirates, Williams allowed more than three earned runs in 11 of his 26 starts on his way to posting a 5.38 ERA. He backed that up with a 6.18 mark in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

After proving he could be effective out of the bullpen in New York, Washington gave him another shot at starting in 2023. His 5.55 ERA that year suggested more of the same, but his performance in 2024 showed what he's capable of when he's right.

It's so easy for even the best pitchers in the sport to have a blow-up start here and there.

Williams having gone 16 in a row over the course of three seasons without having that happen speaks to his transformation and the crucial stability he can provide to this Nationals rotation.