Nats' Rosenthal fails to record outs in 5 straight appearances to tie record

Washington Nationals reliever Trevor Rosenthal tied the MLB record for most consecutive appearances without recording an out after Sunday's contest against the New York Mets.

Dating back to his final outing with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017, Rosenthal has made five straight appearances without recording an out.

(Statistics courtesy: Baseball-Reference)

"I've never been through anything quite like this, so it's kind of tough," Rosenthal told Jamal Collier of MLB.com following the Nats' 12-9 win. "Physically I feel so good and so strong, just the ball is not going exactly where I want it to. I'm just pressing a little bit too much now to make a really good pitch."

Rosenthal's first four appearances with the Nationals since undergoing Tommy John surgery have been catastrophic. The right-hander has faced nine batters, hitting one while allowing four hits and four walks for seven earned runs.

He's the first pitcher who's failed to retire his first nine hitters to begin a season since the Pirates' John Hope in 1995, according to Elias Sports Bureau and MLB Network's Jon Heyman.

Because he has yet to record an out, Rosenthal's ERA is infinite. However, if Rosenthal were to retire the next batter he faces, he would have a 189.00 ERA.

"We have to figure something out with him," manager Dave Martinez said, according to Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic.

The 28-year-old owns a career 3.18 ERA over 325 innings pitched. He memorably recorded 93 saves for the Cardinals between 2014 and 2015.

This past offseason, Rosenthal inked a one-year deal with Washington that guarantees the reliever $7 million.