Williams sharp in return from IL, but Nats bats remain quiet (updated)

CHICAGO – The Nationals’ primary focus during these final weeks of the season surely is on the bevy of young players they’ve added to the roster this summer, many of whom they believe will form the core of their next winning ballclub.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t still some opportunities for veterans to help their own causes here down the stretch. Which is why Trevor Williams was on the mound at Wrigley Field this afternoon.

Williams is not part of the Nats’ long-term plan. The 32-year-old right-hander spent the last 3 1/2 months on the injured list with a flexor strain in his elbow. He’s a pending free agent. But he worked his way back from the injury before season’s end, and the Nationals decided it was worth it to give him two big league starts, both to help him as he enters free agency and to give their other young pitchers some extra rest near the end of a long season.

Williams rewarded the Nats for giving him this opportunity, tossing five innings of one-run ball in his return to competition. They would end up losing to the Cubs, 3-1, but it certainly wasn’t their starter’s fault.

"It was awesome to see him pitch the way he did," manager Davey Martinez said. "He threw the ball really well. It almost looked like he didn't skip a beat, which was great."

If there were any concerns about Williams’ ability to pick up where he left off 3 1/2 months ago, he pretty quickly eased them, looking very much like the guy who pitched so well in April and May. He opened his afternoon by striking out Ian Happ on a slider, and though he did then surrender a line drive homer to Dansby Swanson to put himself in a 1-0 hole, he responded with another strikeout, getting Cody Bellinger to whiff at a 90 mph fastball.

Williams absolutely cruised from that point on. All told, he faced 18 batters across five innings, and he retired 15 of them, giving up two later singles after the early homer. He did not walk a batter. He threw 46 of his 66 pitches for strikes. And even in an abbreviated outing, he struck out seven, just one shy of the career high he set in May against the Mariners.

"I wish I could've come back sooner and helped the team out in more ways," he said. "But I'm super thankful for the guys in the training room ... that have helped me the last few months to get me to be in a spot where we were comfortable going back out there strong. Everything felt good. Take away one pitch from this outing, and it's a completely different ballgame. I'm just thankful that I'm able to be out there and give this team a chance to win."

It was everything the Nationals could’ve hoped for under the circumstances, and it will only leave Williams more motivated to make one more start this season (tentatively scheduled for Friday against the Phillies).

The question then shifts to: What happens to Williams in 2025? He’s about to wrap up a two-year, $13 million contract that included one dreadful season (6-10, 5.55 ERA) and one (injury disrupted) encouraging season. He’s now 5-1 with a 2.19 ERA in 12 major league starts, with one more to go.

"I'm going to worry about my next start, and kind of go from there," he said. "I'm glad that I take that 60-day IL designation away from my name and go back to the active roster."

It wouldn’t seem like the Nats have plans to bring back Williams in the same capacity next season, with four young starters expected to return and the club likely pursuing a bigger-name veteran to replace Patrick Corbin. But there had been thought all along to making him a long reliever at some point this season, and perhaps there’s still interest in re-signing him to lower-salary deal to serve in that capacity and be a capable fill-in starter should the need arise.

"My main thing with him was that he was healthy, and that he leaves here knowing that he's healthy," Martinez said. "He can go and start his winter program. I know he becomes a free agent, but it's good for other teams to see that he's healthy. And, honestly, good for us to see that he's healthy and he's going out there and competing like he always does."

Truth be told, the Nationals’ greater need this winter is a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat, someone who could be counted upon to hit homers, drive in runs and provide much-needed lineup protection for the young trio of CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews and James Wood. That again was painfully obvious today as the team struggled to get anything going at the plate.

Through seven innings, they totaled four hits (all singles, two of them on bunts), three walks and a hit-batter. They did manage to load the bases twice during that time, only to come up short in each case.

José Tena had an opportunity to deliver in the top of the third against Jameson Taillon, but the rookie lined out sharply to left field to end that threat.

Crews then came up to bat in a big spot in the seventh, the bases loaded with two outs and right-hander Tyson Miller summoned out of the Cubs bullpen by manager Craig Counsell. Miller proceeded to approach Crews like so many other pitchers have in recent weeks: He threw him nothing but breaking balls. Crews took the first one for a strike, fouled off the second one, then missed the third one, which was beyond the outer corner.

"The biggest thing with him in those situations is ... we've got to get the ball up," Martinez said. "Try to stay more in the middle of the field. Even more if you know he's going to get that many breaking balls. Just stay back and try to drive the ball to right-center field. I love the kid. The kid battles. He goes up there and works good at-bats. He's going to be fine. It's just a matter of making adjustments."

Any serious hopes of another shot at a late rally were doused when Chicago tacked on two key insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh. Eduardo Salazar was about to escape the inning unscathed, but with two outs and nobody on he issued a walk, watched Darren Baker struggle to field a grounder to his right, uncorked a wild pitch and then surrendered a two-run single that turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-0 deficit.

Wood did finally get the Nationals on the board in the eighth with a monster home run deep into the right field bleachers even though the wind was blowing in. But that’s as close as they got on this day. They wound up losing their fifth straight and remain stuck on 68 wins with only eight games to play, needing to go at least 4-4 now to surpass last year’s 71-91 mark.

"This is kind of the time where you've got to buckle in and just make that last push," Wood said. "I know the offseason is close, but you can't really be focused on that when we've still got games on the table."