Trevor Rosenthal's run of infinite ERA hits record territory

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for Trevor Rosenthal and the Washington Nationals’ bullpen, it got worse.

Rosenthal’s disastrous start to the season continued Sunday, when the reliever entered a game against the New York Mets with his team up 12-6. With a six-run cushion, it was the perfect low-stress environment for Rosenthal to take a deep breathe and try to reverse a start to the season in which he had made three appearances and not recorded a single out.

[It’s still not too late to join or create a 2019 Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league]

Just one out, and Rosenthal’s ERA would be back in the realm of tangible numbers.

That did not happen.

Trevor Rosenthal’s ERA remains infinity

Here’s the simple play-by-play of Rosenthal’s outing:

• Dominic Smith hit-by-pitch

• Wild pitch, Dominic Smith to second

• Wild pitch, Dominic Smith to third

• Luis Guillorme four-pitch walk

All told, Rosenthal threw seven pitches and recorded one pitch in the zone. The Mets didn’t swing at a single pitch.

At that point, Nationals manager Davey Martinez mercifully pulled Rosenthal for Wander Suero, who got the next three outs to keep the Mets off the board. However, that mop-up work from Suero didn’t save Rosenthal from tying an MLB record.

With his fifth straight appearance without an out, going back to his final appearance with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017, Rosenthal has now tied the MLB record for the longest such streak, as noted by Fangraphs. The only pitchers to have as bad a run of appearances as Rosenthal: Trever Miller in 2011 and Joey Eischen in 2005. Funnily enough, those two players posted those streaks with the Cardinals and Nationals, respectively.

Rosenthal’s streak of nine batters faced without an out is also peerless over the last two decades.

This obviously must be an awful feeling for Rosenthal, who is returning from Tommy John surgery and signed a $7 million deal with the Nationals this offseason. The flamethrower very clearly knows something is wrong.

As does the team’s manager.

It remains to be seen if the Nationals will find some way to give Rosenthal a break from major league action, but the team clearly needs to find some way to reset a pitcher who was supposed to be their set-up man this year.

Nats bullpen clearly needs someone who can pitch like Craig Kimbrel

As bad as Rosenthal’s day was, he actually didn’t allow any earned runs thanks to Suero, his first such appearance of the season.

Elsewhere, the Nationals bullpen was handed a 12-1 lead when ace Max Scherzer exited the game and ended up needing to summon closer Sean Doolittle to protect a 12-9 lead in the ninth inning. So clearly, Rosenthal is just one aspect of a bullpen that has flailed in its first eight games of the season.

The unit now possesses the worst ERA of any bullpen in MLB at 10.80 and has seen some spectacularly disastrous outings. Doolittle is one of the best closers in baseball, but only one other member of the bullpen (Kyle Barraclough) has an ERA below 4. Contrast that to five different relievers with ERAs now in the double digits.

So the Nationals, who entered the season seeking to compete in a strong NL East, need bullpen help. That could take the form of finally signing Craig Kimbrel, whose price might be increasing with every meltdown from the Nationals and other contenders. A trade a la the one that sent Doolittle to Washington in 2017 could also work, though that required the team to part with Blake Treinen and Jesus Luzardo. Treinen is now among the most dominant relievers in MLB and Luzardo is one of the top lefty prospects in the minors.

Or Rosenthal and some other relievers could eventually get back on track. Relievers are volatile and sometimes that can work in team’s favor. That is nowhere near assured to happen though, and would be a massive gamble for a competitive team to take.

More from Yahoo Sports:

• How Virginia pulled off latest, greatest controversial escape

• Culver’s late surge sends Texas Tech to national title game

• Why this unsexy NCAA title game is a sign of things to come

• Tips for betting Virginia-Texas Tech national championship