ARLINGTON -- Trevor Williams added a new job experience to his Major League resume on Wednesday in the Nationals’ shutout against the Rangers.

“Magician,” manager Dave Martinez said. “He got out of some tough situations.”

The veteran right-hander improved to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 2.27 in the Nationals’ 1-0 win at Globe Life Field. He delivered five scoreless innings with five hits, four walks and three strikeouts across 79 pitches.

Williams incorporated an extra element into this outing -- he escaped two bases-loaded, no-out jams unscathed. The last pitcher to do this twice in one game was Iván Nova on March 30, 2018, in innings one and five as a member of the Pirates against the Tigers, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“Believe it or not, I’ve been there before,” Williams, 32, said with a laugh. “... Your thought process is one pitch at a time and to trust what you’re hearing in the PitchCom. You just trust that as a pitcher, no matter what, you have the advantage. You’re trying to execute your pitches first, but you’re trying to exploit the hitter wanting to do a little too much.”

In the second inning, Williams allowed three consecutive singles to Adolis García, Evan Carter and Josh Smith. He locked in to get Wyatt Langford to hit a grounder to third that turned into a forceout at home plate, then struck out Jonah Heim on a foul tip and induced a groundout from Leody Taveras.

“I really think his mixes of pitches [helped get out of the jam],” said Martinez. “I think he and Riley [Adams] really worked good together. He threw some really, really, really good pitches in moments to get out of the inning.”

Williams concluded his evening three innings later with the same composure. A pair of singles by Taveras and Marcus Semien combined with a walk to Corey Seager loaded the bases again. Nathaniel Lowe tapped one back to Williams that he turned into a forceout at home, García was caught swinging and Carter popped out to shortstop.

“I guess you can say he kept his poise,” said Rangers manager Bruce Bochy. “He has a good sinker and a good slider and he just made pitches when he had to.”

Williams has not allowed a home run in his last 39 1/3 innings pitched, dating back to Sept. 10, 2023. He holds the longest active homerless streak among Major League starters. In comparison, Williams gave up 34 home runs last season, tied for the fourth most among all pitchers.

“For me, it was the ability to change speeds and keep the ball down. He’s been doing it all year,” said Martinez. “We talked last year, he threw a lot of balls up. That’s where the home runs came. This year, he’s really keeping the ball down, pitching effectively up when he needs to, but he’s really mixing his pitches and keeping everything down.”

Williams set the tone as the bullpen awaited its call. Derek Law, Dylan Floro, Hunter Harvey and Kyle Finnegan combined to finish off the shutout with four frames of one-hit ball.

“He knows that he’s never out of it,” said Finnegan, who earned his 10th save of the season by striking out the side. “He gets a lot of soft contact. … As soon as you get to one pitch away, you know you’re a double play away from getting out of it. You almost start feeling good about it, because the hitters are trying to do damage there and sometimes you can take advantage of that. … He’s got a lot of weapons and he keeps guys off-balance.”

By navigating through high-leverage situations in a one-run game against the Rangers, Williams could earn a spot in the Nationals’ record books (2005-present) in his next outing. He is one start away from tying Gio González for the longest streak of starts (seven, April 7 to May 11, 2012) without giving up a home run to open the season.

“He battles,” said Martinez. “I always say, the guy, he grinds and he battles and he did a great job today.”