On Tuesday, the Washington Nationals did something that has suddenly become a rarity for them in 2025 by clinching a series victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Despite being dominated by Reds' rookie starter Chase Burns early on to the tune of striking out 10 times against him, the team saw him much better later on in his outing, and ended up tagging him for 6 runs, with 5 being earned.
Perhaps the part of the game that flew under the radar the most was that the team's newest addition, lefty Konnor Pilkington, had a fantastic debut for the Nationals. The roster move, which took place on Tuesday before the game, included a swap of relievers, with Pilkington joining the team in place of righty Mason Thompson, who had just recently come back from injury.
In his first outing, Pilkington threw 2.0 shutout innings while not allowing a baserunner, and even struck out 3 batters in his outing. He was highly efficient, firing 15 of his 21 pitches for strikes, and helped successfully bridge the gap from starter Brad Lord to the rest of the relievers. For his efforts, Pilkington even earned the victory for the game, and is now 1-0 on the season.
I wrote a couple of months ago about how Pilkington could be an immediate upgrade for the team's bullpen, back when struggling relievers like Colin Poche and Lucas Sims were still with the club. He finally earned the opportunity after Thompson struggled to the tune of a 13.50 ERA and 3.000 WHIP in 6 appearances. The big righty could easily return later this season, but he needs some more time in AAA to get right as he continues to return from his various injuries.
We have made the following roster moves:
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 22, 2025
- selected the contract of LHP Konnor Pilkington from Triple-A Rochester
- optioned RHP Mason Thompson to Triple-A Rochester
For his career, Pilkington now has a 3.63 ERA and 1.403 WHIP in 17 appearances, and he has now made 6 appearances out of the bullpen for his career. His long-term fit seems to be as a reliever, and hopefully the lefty will be able to continue this quick momentum he generated in his debut for the Nationals.
The Nationals bullpen has been abysmal this year, consistently being near the bottom of the league among most metrics, but recent acquisitions like Andry Lara, Luis Garcia, and Pilkington are looking to turn things around before the end of the season.
What did you think of Konnor Pilkington's performance? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.