Trevor Rosenthal got a sigh of relief Wednesday. The Washington Nationals reliever had recorded his first out of the season, striking out Philadelphia Phillies catcher Andrew Knapp in the ninth inning of a 15-0 game. By doing so, he accomplished a dubious feat of recording his first out in his fifth appearance of the season.
Nationals manager Davey Martinez had announced on Monday that the team would remove Rosenthal from pressure situations to help build his confidence.
Rosenthal had faced 10 batters this season before striking out Knapp. His ERA was infinity entering Wednesday’s game.
He walked Rhys Hoskins to lead of the inning before getting Knapp out. Rosenthal’s struggles continued afterwards, as he walked two more batters and allowed the lone Phillies’ run to score. After getting Aaron Altherr to fly out to end the game, Rosenthal lowered his ERA to 72.00.
“I felt the same I’ve been feeling, just trying to handle the emotions of being back and the early struggles,” Rosenthal told reporters after the game, via The Washington Post. “My teammates have been incredibly supportive of me. It’s been like a family, like everybody wants me to do really well. So I try to embrace that and keep working hard, and that’s all I can pretty much do.”
The journey for Rosenthal has been long. He missed all of the 2018 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair his UCL he injured during the 2017 season while with the St. Louis Cardinals.
He was released by the Cardinals ahead of the 2018 season. He rehabbed and resisted signing a deal with any MLB team until he made a full recovery. The Nationals signed him last November to a one-year deal with a conditional option for a second year, giving him a guaranteed $7 million.
Unfortunately, his return to baseball has been a rough one. He seven runs, four hits, and four walks in his first four appearances without recording an out. Wednesday’s game while not perfect was an improvement, and hopefully for Rosenthal and the Nationals a good sign of getting back on track.
