Williams pleased with process in longest start of spring

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – At an earlier point in his career, Trevor Williams might have viewed the top of the third this afternoon at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in a much different light. The Astros had just scored three runs off him, one via homer but the rest via groundball singles in which Nationals infielders were unable to make the plays necessary to record three outs.

That left Williams with the kind of unsightly final line – three earned runs, seven hits in 4 2/3 innings – that would’ve bothered him in the past. At this stage of his career, with a two-year contract and a secured spot in the Nats’ Opening Day rotation, he understood the process of that inning (a bunch of ground balls) mattered more than the results.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “I executed the pitches I wanted to execute. … Results are results. Thankfully, I have a spot on the team, so I don’t have to necessarily read too much into results. It’s more making sure I’m ready to go once the season starts.”

Williams believes he took an important step toward that ultimate goal this afternoon when he became the first member of the Nationals rotation this spring to reach the fifth inning. He did so despite an elevated pitch count that stood at 60 after the third, retiring the last five Astros batters he faced on a mere 14 pitches.

It was a strong finish to what briefly looked like a rough outing, even if it wasn’t all Williams’ fault. He did serve up a leadoff homer to Houston minor leaguer Grae Kessinger to open the third, but then induced six consecutive ground balls, the first four of which did not result in any outs, the fifth of which resulted in only one out, the last of which finally resulted in an inning-ending double play.

“Look, when Trevor gets the ball on the ground, it’s pretty good,” manager Davey Martinez said. “But that’s the thing: We’ve got to make the plays behind him. Double plays need to be double plays. But he was good.”

Williams, who signed a two-year, $13 million deal in December after a strong 2022 as a swingman for the Mets, wanted to come to D.C. because he knew he was getting the opportunity to be a full-time starter. That means he’s been able to spend this spring building his arm up in a traditional manner, adding 15 or so pitches with each start.

He got to 74 today (four more than the initial plan). He’ll shoot for 85 in his next start, then 100 in his final tune-up before the regular season begins, at which point he expects to be ready for whatever is needed, no limitations.

Within today’s start, Williams showed he has the ability to get opponents out on the bases without the help of his defense. He made two pickoff throws during the outing. He recorded an out in each case, catching Mauricio Dubon trying to break too early from second base, then catching David Hensley the old-fashioned way at first base.

“I’m not a huge pickoff guy,” said the right-hander, who has only three of them during a seven-year career. “I pick my spots when we can pick off. Thankfully today it got me out of two jams.”

Williams noted today’s pickoffs may have been related to the ongoing attempts by pitchers and baserunners alike to figure out the new pitch clock, with both sides trying to time their breaks down to the second, seeking any advantage they can.

Not that Williams didn’t have his own issues with the clock today. He was flagged for two violations, twice called by plate umpire Reed Basner for not beginning his delivery on time.

The second violation actually left Williams arguing for a moment from his perch behind the mound. When the inning ended, he approached Basner and crew chief Chris Conroy for a long chat that lasted nearly the entire inning break.

“There are rules I thought were in place that I guess were changed,” Williams said. “We’re just trying to figure out certain things. It’s tough to separate the heat of the moment on the field and arguing with an umpire while I’m trying to get an out. So that part was a little tough.

“But they’re doing their best job. I’m doing my best job trying to figure things out. I hope it gets figured out before Opening Day and I hope they stop messing with the rules and making amendments, so we know for sure we’ve got two weeks of ball where we know the rules and they stick with it.”

Williams was long out of the game by the time it ended, his teammates having produced a five-run rally in the bottom of the eighth to beat the Astros 7-6. Michael Chavis, competing for the final spot on the Opening Day bench, homered to the concourse beyond the left field berm during the rally. Elijah Green, last summer's first-round pick, added a two-run triple to the gap in right-center, showing off both his power and his speed potential.